


Let Me Down Slowly

by kingriot



Category: Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku/Kirishima Eijirou/Todoroki Shouto
Genre: M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2020-04-11 16:44:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 50,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19113703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kingriot/pseuds/kingriot
Summary: In the world of dance, there will be moments of uncertainty, heartbreak, failure, success, love, friendships, and so much more. Dance AU of U.A.’s biggest polyship and many supporting characters.Inspired to write a poly-fic story, please enjoy this work as it continues to develop :)





	1. Chapter 1

Song List for Let Me Down Slowly:  
•Let Me Down Slowly by Alec Benjamin  
•The Truth Untold by BTS  
•Elastic Heart by Sia  
•Reel It In by Amine  
•The Night Is Still Young by Nicki Minaj  
•Bellyache by Billie Eilish  
•Worst of You by Maisie Peters  
•Always by Jack Danielson  
•MIA by Bad Bunny ft. Drake  
•Way Down We Go by KALEO  
•Fearless by TULE  
•Je Te Pardonne Remix by Sia ft. Maitre Gims  
•Lights Down Low by MAX  
•Visa ft joji, indica and floyd  
•All My Friends by Post Malone  
•Dark Horse by Katy Perry ft. Juicy J  
•Small Doses by Bebe Rhexa  
•NED FLANDERS by MadeinTYO ft. Asap Ferg  
•Hard 2 Face Reality by Poo Bear ft. Justin Bieber  
•Too Hotty by Migos  
•Thrift Shop by Macklemore  
•Snowman by Sia

Added songs: 16 Shots by Stefflon Dion, Deserve by Kris Wu ft. Travis Scott, Wow by Post Malone, Good Form by Nicki Minaj, Look Back At It by A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, 7 Rings by Ariana Grande, Ruin My Life by Zara Larsson, What We're About by Austin and Ally.

*Songs listed are not in order of how the story will progress*


	2. Chapter One: Meet the People

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> See the end for notes

Dance in itself was something of two major important things. The first is that it was a tough career to make money out of, and the second reason was showing what you were born to do. The dictionary definition of dance was something described as a move rhythmically, typically following a sequence of steps. To create something lively with the flow of your limbs that you were blessed with, to have a raise of your toes to the artistry of your fingers, the expression on your face as you feel the intensity and intimacy of the music, the beat of your heart in time with the bass of the music beating loudly in your ears. Dance was a way to tell a story with no words. It was a way to say what was on your mind when the nerves in your stomach wouldn't settle down, almost making you nauseous. That's what dance was.

Bakugou Katsuki was a dancer himself. Growing up in a poor family that could barely afford the dance lessons, he took to the streets and danced for money. Five-year-old Katsuki didn't know how to be embarrassed, nor knew of the financial struggles that he and his family went through, even when they were put out of their homes. It wasn't until he reached the age of fifteen that the kids around him taunted that his mother was a failure, that his father (who disappeared from his life after he was born, not keeping his promise of sending money monthly to make ends meet) only wasn't around because he was too disgusted with them otherwise, and that his dreams of becoming a dancer, were hopeless. Katsuki created a hard outer shell as he grew up in his prefecture. Katsuki learned that the world was unfair to him, that he didn't need anybody but himself, because others have let him down. Because of that, his heart became cold, distant, and hard to break through. Red eyes set in a hardening glare, his mouth turning into a permanent scowl. Going to school, getting excelling grades, and graduating early from high school was the only way he could focus more on his dream to make it in this world and to make life easier for he and his mother. 

As the years went by, Katsuki finds himself in New York, with a one-way ticket and a medium suitcase filled with clothes and other necessities as he sets out to his shared apartment. Shared, because a man has put a flyer in the newspaper, saying that he needed a roommate, due the previous one finding work in a different country. Though born and raised in Japan, Katsuki knew the streets of New York fairly well, his uncle would send him pictures whenever he could when he was in the city. The air was settling into a crisp autumn season. The leaves turning from their lively green to a warm brown, falling like snow on the streets, crunching beneath worn boots as Katsuki avoids bumping into people. Walking up the steps of the apartment complex, he knocks on the door twice. After a few seconds, the door opens to reveal another blonde, with a black lightning streak in the bang on his hair.

The stranger smiles, warmly. "Hi. How can I help you?"

Katsuki clears his throat. "I'm here for the new roommate position." Weird wording, Bakugou, but alright.

"Ah, you're in the right place. You're looking for Denki--Kaminari Denki, right?" The man asks, receiving a nod from Katsuki. "That's me! Nice to meet you...?"

"Bakugou. Katsuki Bakugou." They shake hands, Kaminari stepping to the side to let the other through. 

The space in the apartment was small, comfortable, and cozy, all three things that Bakugou liked. The walls were black, decorated with pictures of Kaminari and other people that Katsuki didn't know. The couch was matching the carpet--pure white. The table clear glass with unlit candles set on it. The kitchen had a marble countertop with a fruit holder in the center. The microwave sitting above the stove, the refrigerator embellished with papers that had specific dates on them, but Katsuki didn't want to pry into personal business. Heading upstairs, there were two bedrooms, one on the right and one on the left. The bathroom sitting in between them. 

"This is the room that you'll be staying in. You can decorate it as you like, I would suggest adding curtains to the window because it points out to the street and I don't think you want people seeing your pee-pee anytime soon." Kaminari says, pointing to the said window to prove his point. The window did, in fact, lead out to the street, where the sidewalks were crowded with people heading to their designated places. As they leave the empty room, Kaminari shows Katsuki where he can do his laundry and showing the paperwork of becoming the roommate of the shared apartment. "I can already tell you won't be a problem to be for a roommate. You keep to yourself and you seem like a tidy enough guy, and I personally would like to have you as a roommate. That is if you agree to do so."

Katsuki hums in thought. The place was nice entirely, the room was small, but he'll manage. He doesn't have any complaints. "Okay, I'll be your roommate."

"Really? Thanks, man. You won 't regret it," Kaminari beams as he shakes Katsuki's hand, sliding the paperwork and a pen towards the ash blond. "We should celebrate. I know just the place. How do you feel about underground get-togethers?"

Pausing from signing the paperwork, Katsuki looks up, eyebrows furrowing. "What do you mean, 'underground get-togethers'?" He asks, immediately going to say no if it's going to be raging people in a cramped room, reeking of alcohol and weed. Something that he did not want to encounter, or smell like.

"I say 'underground get-together' in the sense that it is only a place me and my secluded number of friends go to gather almost every day, and we just talk, drink coffee and tea, and listen to music, dance if you want to," Kaminari explains, noticing how Katsuki immediately perked up at the mention of dance. "That got your attention, didn't it? You're a dancer? If that's the case, I can introduce you to some of my dancer friends. You'll get along with them smoothly, I just know it."

"Will I regret it if I go, regardless of meeting your friends or not?" Katsuki asks gruffly. 

"You won't know unless you agree to come," Kaminari counters, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

Katuski debates his decision in his head. He sighs when he comes to his resolve. "Fine, I'll come. I better not regret it."

"Yay! Hurry and put your stuff in your room. I've got people I want you to meet."

~~~

As it turns out, the place was underground, and well hidden, the main door facing upward to the sidewalk. The bus ride in itself was a solid fifteen minutes, twenty if you walked by foot, and ten if you ran. With Kaminari leading him into the place, the lights were set to a low dim, the smell of the room greeting Katsuki's nose, registering it as the smell of coffee beans and a leafy smell. In said space, there was a bar, and there were people surrounding it. The woman standing behind it had a long ponytail, a bang hanging over her right eye. Her eyes were a steel silver but were kind. Her smile grew as she turned to talk to others around her, sitting at the bar, potentially waiting for a drink or just wanting to chat with her. The gaze shifts over to Kaminari and Katsuki, waving them over. "Hey, Kami. I just finished making tea. I'll get you a cup." She pauses and turns back around. "Oh, I should probably introduce myself. I'm Momo Yaoyorozu, I own the place." They shake hands, Katsuki quietly introducing himself. "Do you prefer coffee or tea? How do you like it?"

"Coffee. Black with sugar. Please." Katsuki says, pulling out money to pay her. She stops him in the process. Katsuki frowns and looks up at her. "Don't I have to pay you?"

"All newcomers get one on the house. Trust me, it's more than fine. I'll be right up with your coffee." Yaoyorozu turns to make him a fresh cup, leaving Katsuki to look around the place. He hears giggling as Kaminari comes up to him with a person on each side. One with green, wild, curly hair, eyes to match, freckles dotting his cheeks and his nose. His smile so bright it competes with the sun. On the right side of Kaminari, there is a redhead with an equally blinding smile. Eyes are red, just like Katsuki's, but his teeth were sharp at the ends, pearly white as ever. 

The three of them walk up to Katsuki, immediately ceasing their previous conversation as they approach the newcomer. "Guys, this is my newest roommate, Bakugou Katsuki. Katsuki, this is Midoriya Izuku on my left, and Kirishima Eijirou on my right. They're both dancers for a company that I do music for."

"Hello, it's nice to meet you!" The redhead now known as Kirishima beams widely, shaking Katsuki's hand. Izuku grins with a closed-mouth smile as he shakes the outstretched hand as well.

"N-n-nice to m-m-meet you." Izuku smiles shyly, his gaze fixed on the floor. 

Kaminari explains before Katsuki asks. "Anyway, these guys wanted to know if you were interested in joining their dance team. They're looking for new members, the classes are free to those in the program, and you should listen to what they have to offer. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have something I need to work on with Jirou. Toodles!" He blows kisses, walking away from the trio.

It's a few seconds of silence before Kirishima breaks the ice. "So besides becoming Kami's new roommate, what else are you here for?"

Katsuki shrugs his shoulders. "I don't have any other reason. Besides, what dance team are you guys apart of?"

"U-u-u-U.A.'s Dance of E-e-e-lite," Izuku states, twiddling his fingers.

"It's a company that specializes in all different genres of dance. For example, I dance contemporary, hip hop and ballet. Izuku dances ballet, jazz, hip hop, tap, and ballroom. He's aiming to become a prodigy." Kirishima informs. Izuku shrugs shyly, though a blush decorates his cheeks. Katsuki wonders why that is. Kirishima shoots up suddenly. "I almost forgot. I wanted to show them the dance that we've been working on. Come on, Izuku." Not waiting for an answer, Kirishima grabs Izuku's hand and pulls him to the dance floor, not before giving Kaminari (who was also working as the DJ) a song that he wanted him to play, grinning when Kaminari understood what he wanted. "Attention everyone! We have a piece of the dance that we are working on for an upcoming showcase that we would like to share with you guys! Are you down?" The crowd cheers in response. He smiles. "Hit it, Kami!"

The song 16 Shots by Stefflon Dion starts to play. The low hum of the song comes to a steady snare of the drums in the background, gradually growing louder. Kirishima and Izuku swing their heads as they get into the groove. Izuku shifts his hips from side to side, a sassy persona replacing the shyness Katsuki witnessed earlier. The climax hits, and it's like a switch is turned on. Katsuki is amazed. Kirishima pulls off tricks, twisting his body every which way, in tune to Izuku's, whose body turns into silk, his facial expressions turn into something dangerous, taunting Katsuki as if saying, "I know you want a taste, but you won't get any."

God, if Katsuki isn't aroused from that face alone. Katsuki is shocked to the core, amazed at how in sync they are, perfectly balancing each either out. Katsuki can figure out how both of them go about dancing. Kirishima focuses more on surprise/wow factors, like tricks and unexpected flips in the middle of a performance. Izuku specializes in technical skills, and things that work more for his curvy hips, to which is evident whenever his shirt rises up from his arms.

After they are done giving a sample of what they are working on, the crowd goes wild at their performance. Smiling and faces flushed with sweat, they both bow their heads and walk off the stage towards Katsuki. They both plop down next to him like they both just didn't do a live Just Dance routine in front of everybody. "So, what kind of dance do you do?" Kirishima asks, right back to smiling that sickly sweet smile that Katsuki knows he's going to get a cavity by just looking at it.

"I do everything. Kind of like Midoriya over here." Katsuki says.

"D-d-do you think that y-y-you would be willing in j-j-joining the d-d-d-dance team? We have practices from Mo-mon-Monday to Friday." Izuku says.

"Saturdays and Sundays are filled with competitions, sometimes spilling into the weekdays, though it's not common," Kirishima adds on, picking at his fingernails. "Besides, the class sizes aren't humungous if that's what you're worried about. Our dance instructors teach well and have put some students on the map. It could be big for you if you're looking into that sort of thing."

Katsuki hums in response as he mulls it over. It is a chance for him to get on the path that he always wanted to be on. This is the perfect opportunity for him to finally start his dream of becoming a pro-dancer. He looks up, determination in his eyes, as well as curiosity. "Why did you guys decide to become dancers?"

"Honestly? My parents were dancers, and I just fell in line. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love it. I've been doing it ever since I was a little kid, watching others dance on television. It seemed too good to be true when I moved here three years ago to pursue my dream of maybe becoming a dance teacher one day. I mean, that's the gist of it anyways," Kirishima looks over to Izuku. "Do you want to tell the story, or do you want me to?"

"G-g-go ahead." Izuku whispers.

"Izuku here, in case you hadn't noticed, has a speech impediment. It's due to him from lack of developing an appropriate speech pattern. His parents tried everything they could to get rid of it. Therapy, putting him in plays. Heck, even putting him in the kids' choir at school to get rid of it. But, above all that, dancing is the one language that he speaks. The way his body moves to the music as if it created him, is something truly beautiful. Izuku may not be the strongest in terms of conversation, but he can hold his own when he is on the dancefloor. It's when he can truly be himself."

There's underlying fondness in his voice, going soft at the end, almost on the verge of crying. Katsuki almost gets up to get a napkin from Yaoyorozu, but Kirishima stops him. "What made you want to do dance, Bakugou?"

"It's been a part of my life for all I can remember. I used to dance on the corner for fun, and people would actually pay me. It's been an everlasting passion of mine. I want to become a pro-dancer one day, so I can take my family somewhere nice in the future." Katsuki explains briefly. Then, he asks. "So, what would I need to do in order to join the dance team?"

"Just show up." Izuku states.

"He's right. We're accepting new members. Come to practice and show us what you can do. I have a feeling Aizawa will love you right away." Kirishima chuckles.

"Kiri, you know Aizawa almost hates anyone and anything that breathes," Izuku argues softly. 

"True. but that's not the point here," Kirishima winks, sending a blush to scatter across Izuku's cheeks. He looks at Katsuki. "So, what do you say?"

"Fine. I'll join the team." Katsuki says with no hesitation.

"Well, that was quick. I thought we would have to convince you more than that." Kirishima states, eyes widening comically before chuckling.

"I want to dance. It's my dream. Plus, I've been wanting to join an industry anyways. So congrats nerds, you've got a new recruit."

"Well then, welcome to the team Bakugou Katsuki. Kaminari wanted to introduce you to one more person, but he's on a trip. He'll be back tomorrow, though."

"Then I'll meet him tomorrow."

"No shit, Sherlock. How'd you figure out our plan?"

"Kiri, my mom's making pork cutlet bowls. We should head over there before it gets cold." Izuku mumbles, tugging on Kirishima's sleeve.

Kirishima wraps an arm around Izuku's shoulders. "Alright Zuku, let's go eat pork cutlet bowls," He murmurs softly. He grins at Katsuki. "See you tomorrow!"

"See ya."

As Kirishima and Izuku walk out of the place, Katsuki thinks of two things.

1\. How cold his coffee has gotten.

2\. Are those two dating?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first official chapter! I hope you guys liked it! Leave any comments!


	3. Chapter Two: Dance Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Todoroki and Bakugou dance it out, but who will come out on top?
> 
> Terms that are unfamiliar in this chapter, I will putting this symbol, *, by them, and the definitions will be put in the notes at the end.

Katsuki woke up to two things.

The first being the strong smell of coffee that wafted its way through Katsuki's closed-door somehow. The second being the loud laughter that made its solo trip through the vents in Katsuki's room. Either way, Katsuki was awake, and he couldn't go back to sleep. He figures he might as well get a start on the day, no? Katsuki pulls the covers back, letting the crisp and chill air hitting the exposed skin, as he was wearing shorts (he couldn't bother to sleep in actual pants, he gets hot quickly. Then again, he has mountains of covers on his comforter so there's really no explanation as to what Katsuki was thinking), and shifts to sit upright on the bed, stretching his arms above his head as he yawns in tiredness. 

Katsuki gets up, walking over to the curtains to draw them back, revealing the brightness of the autumn clouds, the sun taking its rest until needed for more well-suited months. He rubs his face tiredly as he wanders out of the room, down the short hallway, down the even shorter set of stairs, and into the dining room, where the source of the laughter is coming from. In his line of sight, Katsuki sees Kaminari and Kirishima sitting at the table with mugs of coffee in their hands. Kirishima laughs at whatever joke Kaminari has made before turning his head towards Katsuki. He smiles, "Good morning, Katsuki!"

"Morning," Katsuki mumbles, shuffling towards them. "When did you get here?"

"A few minutes ago. Kami always has me over for breakfast, or in some cases, a cup of coffee. He can't be bothered to make anything to eat for us right now." 

Kaminari mocks a gasp, putting his hand over his heart. "If anything, you don't want my cooking because you claim to hate my cooking." Kaminari then scratches his cheek. "Then again, I can't really blame you. I suck at cooking regardless."

Kirishima hums around the cup of his coffee, raising the mug to his lips, but not taking a sip of the black liquid. "What about you, Katsuki? Can you cook?"

Katsuki shrugs. "It's not hard to do. You just need to pay attention."

Kaminari's eyes widen, the wheels in his head turning with a new idea. He smirks, setting his irises upon Katsuki. "Would you be willing to make us... I don't know, pancakes? Pretty please? With cherries on top?" 

Katsuki deadpans as Kaminari gives him puppy-dog eyes. "How did I get sucked into this?"

"When you answered my question," Kirishima points out, smiling around the rim of the mug, finally taking a sip.

"Ugh, fine, dunce face. I'll make you pancakes." Katsuki turns to Kirishima as Kaminari yelps in victory. "Do you want anything, Shitty Hair?"

"One, my hair is just as spiky as yours, thank you very much," Kirishima factualizes. "And two, I am just fine with my coffee. I had a granola bar on the way here."

Katsuki waltzes into the kitchen, looking in the cupboards in search for the pancake mix, bowls, pans, and other necessities for the breakfast meal. Eggs would great with it too, he decides, looking in the refrigerator for the carton, finding its purchase at the back. As he gets everything together for Kaminari and himself to eat, Katsuki wonders out loud, "Where's your curly-haired friend?"

Kirishima was busy looking at the aligned and presented magazines that were on the coffee table, picking up one and skimming the colorful pages. "You mean Izuku? He's getting a ride with a mutual friend of ours, so he's going to meet us at the dance studio. Which reminds me, you do have clothes for practice, don't you?"

Katsuki flips the pancakes, the side facing him a delicious golden brown color. "No, I brought my clothes to sing in the opera later. Yes, I brought clothes for practice, Shitty Hair." He snorts at his own joke, plating two pancakes on each plate, before starting on the eggs. Which, he later hits himself for, he could have done while simultaneously making the pancakes.

"I like how you found your own joke funny, because I didn't." Kirishima smirks, Kaminari laughing from his seat. Kirishima walks over to where Katsuki was, who was currently stationary in the kitchen. He walks over to the countertops, resting his elbows there. "We have practice every morning around nine in the morning, and the latest that we will go to is around two in the afternoon. Don't worry, you get breaks in between, though I would recommend that you pack a lunch or pick up something on the way there," Kirishima explains in a calm manner. He starts to pick his fingernails, a bad habit that he needs to break. "The practices are split off in time increments based on the different genres of dance. For example, ballet is first, with an hour and a half long session. Then, there's contemporary that lasts an hour, and so on and so forth. This way, you get to experience the different types of dance that you wouldn't have been exposed to beforehand." 

Katsuki nods, reeling in all the information that he has been given. Once the eggs were done cooking, he plates them, calling Kaminari. "Oi, dunce face. Come eat."

"Yes, mom." Kaminari says, dodging a spatula swatting through the air. 

"Call me mom one more time, I'll burn everything to a crisp." Katsuki threatens.

"It would be hard not to if you keep making food like this," Kaminari gushes, savoring another bite. "This is so good!" 

"Oi, stop talking with your mouth full. It's gross."

"Mmmmhmmm." Kaminari hums happily around his fork.

\--

As soon as breakfast was ate (Kaminari begging for seconds but Katsuki promised he will smack him with the still-hot pan), Katsuki goes upstairs to change into a black, short-sleeved shirt with black jogging pants to match. He throws on a white hoodie, due to the air outside being a little crisper than normal. He does the normal morning routine in the shared bathroom; brush your teeth, wash your face, floss, and heads back down into the living room. He finally takes in what Kirishima was wearing. Kirishima has on similar black jogging pants as well, only his had red designs decorating the black fabric. His shirt says, 'Red Riot and Beyond', due to the famous band that was based in New York, now a popular name amongst many. His hair was in its usual spiky style, but with a white headband covering his forehead, probably to keep the hair from falling in front of his eyes. Katsuki's eyes then shift over to Kaminari, the blond wearing a black biker jacket with all kinds of zippers on the front, underneath a plain white tee, and black pants to match. Katsuki heads out to the door, "Ready to go, losers?"

"I like how you're heading out first, but you don't know where the studio is." Kirishima mocks, Kaminari nodding in agreement.

"If you tell me about a place, I'm bound to look up its location. Of course I know where the stupid studio is, let's go." Katsuki counters, smirking as a rather impressed Kirishima looks back at him.

"All right, then. Let's roll."

The train ride to the studio was short, give or take 15 minutes to get there. As the three men stand in front of the studio, Kirishima gives a warning. "I should probably mention to you that one of our instructors is a little...tense, if you will." Katsuki raises an eyebrow at the vauge explanation before they walk through the glass doors of the building.

Inside there was a sign-in desk for those that were taking dance lessons that weren't on an official team, the lady in her elderly years as she smiles talking to a young child. After they have walked off, she sees the three men standing in front of her. "Hello, dears. I take it rehearseal is today?"

"You bet. I might need your help afterwards. My calves have been killing me lately." Kirishima beams. He turns towards the others on his right, "This is Bakugou Katsuki. He moved here recently, and is a dancer himself. So, you know me, I had to show him what our dance team could do. Oh, you already know Kaminari."

"Of course I do," The old lady beams, sending a kind wave towards both blonds. "I won't hold you any longer. If you sprained anything, I'll be in the nursery room."

"See ya later, Recovery Girl!" Kaminari gives the finger guns as she walks away. The trio make their way to the hall next to the front desk, there are two rooms on their left, and three rooms on their right. The walls were a light gray, with the occasional white stripe going along with it.

"Why did you call that lady Recovery Girl?" Katsuki questions as they enter a room, it being already filled with others chatting with friends, and putting their duffel bags in a corner of the spacious room. Inspiring quotes aligned the walls, some saying, 'Dance like nobody's watching', and 'Dance is a Safe Space for All to Enjoy', and so on and so forth.

"Because whenever she does help you recover, it's quick. It's like she has superpowers. There was this one kid who torn a ligament, and he went to go see her. He was back dancing in a week, tops." Kaminari gushes, walking over to the stereo that was currently stationary in the corner of the room, right next to the enlarged mirror, so that dancers can see how they are doing and what techniques they need to focus on.

Kirishima scans the room, his smile widening when he finds what he is looking for. "Zuku, you brought Todoroki with you!" Grabbing onto Katsuki's wrist, Kirishima drags him over to the two males, one that seemed familiar to Katsuki and one that he didn't know with hair in a low ponytail, who were in conversation before Kirishima startled them. "Katsuki, this is who I wanted you to meet. Todoroki Shouto, he dances contemporary, modern, ballroom, and hip hop. Todoroki, this is Bakugou Katsuki, a guy who just moved here and is now starting out to becoming a dancer. I heard he has quite some experience."

"Is that so?" The cool voice of Todoroki questions as he gives Katsuki a square look. 

Katsuki glares back at him, opening his mouth to ask him what he problem was, but Izuku beat him to it. "'Roki, s-s-s-stop giving people t-t-that look." He murmurs, tugging on the baby blue sleeve of Todoroki's jacket, looking at up him with piercing forest eyes. "It's rude."

Todoroki turns his attention back to Izuku, frowning as he realized that Izuku was maybe right about what he was saying. He shouldn't judge the guy, he barely knows him. Todoroki sticks out a hand. "I'm sorry for my rude look. I'm Todoroki Shouto, although Kirishima has already told you that."

Katsuki shakes his hand. "Bakugou Katsuki. And no worries about the look you gave me, I was just wondering if there was something I did that offended you."

Todoroki shakes his head, the bangs of his half-white-half-red hair falling in his face. "No, it wasn't you. I just become wary of the people that Kirishima introduces us to. He tends to try to recruit people a lot. Half of them are good, half of them turn out not to be so good, so I apologize for judging you before knowing you."

"No worries, man."

The door to the room opens up again to a man with dark, silky hair that was half up, half down. He was currently wearing a gray hoodie with equally gray sweatpants to match. His eyes, low and hazy, scan the room of students as he walks towards the front. A cup of coffee in his hand, he raises the styrofoam to his lips, taking a long sip of his drink (which he personally liked black, with a little bit of cream in it, with no sugar). His voice is gravelly and quiet as he speaks. "Good morning students."

"Good morning, Aizawa." The students voice as he sets his things down by the stereo.

The man now known as Aizawa lands his gaze on Katsuki, who almost shifts in uncomfort. "Another member is joining us, Kirishima?"

Kirishima grins like a dog who has just been told he is a good boy and is getting a treat. "Yes, sir! This is Bakugou Katsuki. He recently moved here from Japan in hopes of starting a dance career. From what Kaminari has been telling me, he's been dancing his whole life."

"Is that so?" Aizawa squints his gaze as he comes closer to Katsuki, speaking in an even lower tone, "Do you think you have what it takes to become a dancer for this team?"

"Yes, sir." Katsuki says coolly as he matches Aizawa's gaze. "I have what it takes to become an even better dancer than the people that you see in this room. I know it will be tough, but I've handled tougher things than this my entire life. Believe it."

Aizawa hums, nodding his head. "I like you, Katsuki. Welcome to the team." He turns to the other students around him, who were watching the interaction with heavy stares. "Get the barres* out, we will begin practice once they are in place. I hope you all are warmed up, because I will be challenging you during this warm-up practice." And Katsuki does not like the grin that Aizawa has on his face when he says this. After all the barres are in their rightful places and people find a spot on each of the four barres, Aizawa gives the rundown of what the warm up routine will be. "We will start in second position*, with coupe* to the front, the outside foot leading with five beats. Then out to the side, going from the front to the back with four beats. Pirouette* three times, hold the position on rise, slowly coming down, tambe* to the back with your new outside foot, come to fifith position on rise, use control as you come to a demi plie*, and rest your body afterwards. If you cannot make it to the third pirouette, use two and turn in place using the fifth position. Remember to show your ankles, not your toes. Understood?" Aizawa instructs, earning various head bobs across the room. "Then let me see someone demonstrate it. Izuku, show me what I just instructed."

"Y-y-yes, sir." Izuku mumbles. He shows the moves of what Aizawa instructed, his gaze to the floor, though his head is straight. The moves are seamless, graceful and calculated, although the routine was given to him today. In the perfect artistry of his arms, Izuku demonstrated glass that shouldn't, and would never want to, be broken. After he is done completing the routine, Izuku turns to Aizawa, seeking approval, blushing slightly when Aizawa commends him for it.

"Alright, let's begin. Five, six, seven, eight."

\--

"Holy crap, I am beat." Kirishima groans, falling backward on the hard, silver floor beneath the small group. Aizawa called for a break after putting the barres away, but that was AFTER he made them do floor warm-ups as well. "I cannot get those fouette turns* for the life of me, I swear to God."

"At least your group didn't have to do glissade and maneges around each other for twenty minutes straight." Izuku grumbles, turning to Todoroki and Katsuki, who looked as though they haven't broken a sweat yet. "I'm surprised that you guys look so collected. Well, more Kacchan than anybody else."

Katsuki raises an eyebrow at the nickname. "Kacchan?"

"Yeah, K-k-k-Kacchan. I give a lot of people nicknames. I call Kirishima 'Kiri' s-s-s-sometimes. I call Todoroki 'Roki', so it was fitting I give you one." Izuku panics quickly. "Unless you want me to c-c-c-call you by your regular name, I can do that too."

"No, Kacchan works just fine, Izuku." Katsuki says as he simultaneously eats his snack and effectively dodges a sweaty Kirishima, who was trying to find comfort in somebody's lap. "Plus, the routines were not that bad. If anything, they seemed light."

"Say that any louder and Aizawa will hear you." Kirishima mumbles, taking reside in resting his head on Todoroki's shoulder. "Some of us don't move gracefully like you guys do."

Izuku rests an arm on Kirishima's thigh, rubbing the clothed skin there. "It's okay, Kiri. Some of us move quicker than others, but we're all learning the same thing. I'm not that good with ballroom and you seem astoundingly good at that, which makes me wonder why you don't want to take the class." He pinches the skin, earning a yelp from Kirishima.

"We discussed this. I can just learn from you without taking the lessons for myself. Plus, I can't fit everything into my already crazy schedule. Don't give me that pout." Kirishima pouts when he sees Izuku pouting. 

Katsuki leans over to Todoroki, whispering, "Are they an item?"

Todoroki whispers back, "It's complicated."

Well, that's a good of an answer as any. After the break was over, Aizawa tells the students to huddle up to discuss the plans outlining this upcoming week. "This Saturady is the first competition of the year, and it is important that we come prepared, polished, and with the fact that we can do great if we put our minds to it. Ms. Midnight and I have the lists of the dances that you will be doing. The group dance will be to the song 'Bury a Friend' by Billie Eilish. For the solo piece we have, drum roll please..." The students pat the palms of their hands to the floor, waiting in anticipation who will be getting the group solo. "Izuku Midoriya. He will be dancing to 'Chandelier' by Sia. For the group dance, I need everyone in formation so I can show you the sequences for the routine. Bakugou, you can sit out this one, as it is your first time here and we have already outlined this dance. However, you can tag along to the competition this Saturday with us. We will meet at nine in the morning like normal, and then we will take a bus over to Leaping Bounty, where the competition will be held. This goes for all of you, bring snacks and water to bring. Eat before you show up and eat afterwards. Costume rehearseal will take place on Thursday and Friday. Bring your footsies* and black ballet flats, understood?" After getting a round of 'yes sir's, Aizawa, picks up a sheet. "Alright, here is the formation of the dance:

Row one: Todoroki

Row two: Izuku and Kirishima

Row Three: Jirou, Ochaco and Mina

Row Four: Kendou, Hagakure, Ojiro and Sato

Row Five: Asui, Tokoyami, Shoji, Aoyama and Koda

That is all." Aizawa says, folding the paper. "Get into position so we can go over this dance."

As the students get in their rightful spots, Bakugou stands by the stereo, watching as Aizawa goes over the dance routine, also taking note that Kaminari was still standing there. "Hey dunce face, why aren't you in the dance?"

"I act as this studio's personal audio, meaning I and another friend who is also in the dance work together to get the music edited and working for the routines. I kind of dance too, but all I do is jazz. That's it." Kaminari explains. Katsuki nods his head. 

Aizawa shows the routine to the students about three more times, then telling them to do it in front of him. He points out a few mistakes. "Jirou, your hand isn't supposed to go that way, remember that. Also Koda, be a little more sure of your moves. I know we just started, but you need to be more certain of your moves, ok? Get on the floor in your positions. From the top. Kaminari, play the music."

"Gotcha." Kaminari presses play on the stereo, the music starting with a low beat. The beat gradually gets louder and louder, Todoroki moving with it, but it is only his shoulders that he is moving. As the girl starts to sing, the others behind come alive. There is a dark, menacing twist to the song, meant to challenge the audience into thinking that they are watching a scene from an insane asylum. By God, Katsuki didn't know that these kids could give energy like this. They are seemed bubbly, upbeat, others seemed to close off to themselves. But when it came time to put on a show, best believe they came to deliever. Katsuki couldn't help but think that he might have found the right place.

As the song came to an end, Aizawa goes over tidbits with the students when it came to the arch in their foot, the way their fingers should move, and to have their aura seem perfect with this song. "Remember those tips and we'll be good for Saturday." Aizawa states. "Izuku, you're up. Put on the nude ballet flats and come to the center of the room."

As the others disperse and Izuku goes to retreat his flats, Kirishima walks up to the blond duo standing side by side, grinning despite the sweat accumulating on his top lip. "Well? What do you think? Pretty good, huh?"

Katsuki wonders why Kirishima is so intent on Katsuki being impressed with this team. He already agreed to join, so that should be the end of it. Not vocalizing his inner thoughts, Katsuki shrugs his shoulders. "I like it. You guys look really good with this dance, despite just learning the routine."

"Really? Thanks!" From the way Kirishima is smiling at him, Katsuki mentally swears to Kaminari for not telling him to bring sunglasses. "Since Aizawa is a fast-pace kind of teacher, we learn to pick things up quick, too."

"Alright, Izuku." Aizawa says as Izuku walks toward him, into the center of the room. The other students take spots on the floors near the walls, because no one wants to go home with a bruise. "Since you are Midnight's student, your routine will have more flips and flexible tricks in here, adding to the wow factor and getting us points. However, your ballet and contemporary skills will play a huge part in this dance. It is important that you stretch and ice your muscles after this much strenuous activity. Understood?" Izuku nods, rubbing his left arm, the air being strangely cold, but that's what happens when you wear a tight, sleeveless turtleneck. "Perfect, let's get started." 

Katsuki watches in concealed awe as Izuku manages to do not one, but two aerial flips into a middle split. With a song like 'Chandelier', it's important that you convey a story through the dance, that way the audience will get a clear understanding of what is happening. The theme of Saturday's competition was Mental Awareness. Both songs that the team is doing conveys stories through mental stability, trying to battle it but succumb to the pressure. As Izuku dances, Katsuki can't help but wonder the reason why they thought Izuku would be good for this solo, was because of unspoken mental trauma. Maybe childhood experiences? Abuse? Whatever it is, Katsuki is not going to ask, that's not the type of person he is. He'd rather wait until someone was comfortable enough with him before explaining anything as serious as that.

Izuku tries to do ten fouette turns, but can only manage about six. "A-a-Aizawa, I don't know if I can d-d-do ten turns," Izuku stutters. When Aizawa turns to him with a silent gaze, Izuku retaliates and averting his gaze. "N-n-n-nevermind, I can do it." 

Aizawa sighs, placing a hand on Izuku's shoulder, forcing him to meet gazes. "If you can't manage to do ten, you can do six and fit the rest of the turns in with pirouettes. If that is also too much, we can change that part entirely. What do you think?"

It was so silent you could hear a pin drop as the students watch the interaction with wary attention. Izuku's gaze shifts uncomfortably, now finding his ballet flats comforting to look at. "I can do it, Aizawa. I promise." Izuku whispers. 

Aizawa sighs again, releasing Izuku's shoulder. "Okay." He states. "With the music, from the top."

\--

It was 2:30 pm when the students filed out of the studio. Well, everyone except Izuku and Kirishima. Kaminari and Katsuki went back to their apartment while Shouto had something to take care of that needed his attention, so he bid them goodbye as he took off walking south of the building. Kirishima watches as Izuku grows frustrated at the fact that he managed to get one more fouette turn out of his body. He walks closer to the green-haired male, looking at him in the mirror. "Zuku, stop. You're tired and it's not going to be any better if you keep doing this. Did you even drink water before you started again?"

"Of course I did, Kiri." Izuku says, looking at him through the mirror, chest heavy with tired breathing.

Kirishima raises an eyebrow. "Did you eat anything today? A granola bar, a piece of fruit, anything?" 

Izuku freezes, his throat suddenly seeming dry. He scrambles for an answer. "U-u-um, well..."

Kirishima frowns, stepping in front of Izuku. "Are you kidding me? You're shitting me right? Please tell me you ate something." 

Izuku looks up at Kirishima with soft eyes, voice timid. "No. I thought about it but I completely forgot to grab an apple or something on my way out the door. I promise I'm not lying to you, Kiri. Look at me." Izuku pleads, knowing how mad Kirishima gets with things like this. Kirishima looks down with a hard glare, making Izuku shy away from him. "I-I-I promise I'll bring something tomorrow. Okay?"

All anger leaves Kirishima's eyes as he sighs, walking foward and placing his arms around Izuku's small waist, tucking his face in his neck. "I know, Zuku. But I can't help but fear you are going to end up like last time. Just promise me you'll eat, okay?"

"I feel bad for making you worry, though. I'm sorry. I'm making you worry and I'm a grown man who shouldn't be reminded to eat every day. I can't even get these stupid turns down and I don't want Aizawa to change anything to the routine because he and Midnight worked hard on it and I don't want to be a bother-"

"You aren't being a bother." Kirishima steps back, both of his large hands still holding Izuku's waist. "You are the one performing this dance, not Aizawa. If you find something that you know you can't do yet, then tell him that. Otherwise you're going to end up injuring yourself and we both know Recovery Girl has healed you more than enough times."

A tired chuckle comes from Izuku. "True."

Kirishima leans foward, pressing their foreheads together. "I also don't like it when you stutter around me. It makes me seem as if you're afraid of me."

Izuku frowns, creating a little line on his button nose. "I stutter around everyone. I-I-I've gotten better over the years." Izuku leans even closer, pressing their noses together. "I'm not afraid of you, Kiri. Stop making up ridiculous thoughts."

Kirishima giggles. "I will after you eat this piece of fruit I have in my bag. You're lucky I had extra apple slices, you lucky bastard."

"My hero. W-w-where would I be without you?"

Kirishima frowns again, pulling his head back. "Do you really want me to answer that?"

Izuku watches as Kiri walks toward his bag, which was plastered with rock bands that Izuku has never heard of. "What's that s-s-supposed to mean?"

"I don't know, Zuku. If I were to answer your question, what do you think my answer would be?" Kirishima says, coming back with a Ziploc bag full of apple slices, tossing them to Izuku. "If I were to answer your question, it would be that you wind up in a hospital bed somewhere, with tubes coming out of your body. If I weren't here, you'd be dancing until you passed out from dehydration. Izuku, I can't have that happen to you." Tears well up in the corner of his eyes. He comes closer, wrapping his arms around Izuku once more. "Promise me that you'll get better not just for me, but not for yourself."

Izuku stands in silence, his cheeks burning with embarrassment. He looks at Kirishima's collarbone, placing his hands on Kirishima's biceps, traveling them up to his shoulders, and finally up to his neck. He pulls him down to have their foreheads and noses meet again. He brings his gaze to meet Kirishima's, finding nothing but protection and worriedness, like a mother who learned that her child hurt themselves on the playground. "No more hospitals. No more skipping meals. I won't just jump back into it, but it'll be in small increments. I'm sorry Kiri. I'll be better for the both of us."

Kirishima nods his head, turning it to kiss the corner of Izuku's mouth, the dimple that hides there when he's not smiling. In return, Izuku kisses the scar above Kirishima's right eye, remembering the story of how he got it. Izuku starts to sniffle, squeezing his eyes shut as Kirishima softly shushes him, cooing and rubbing his back. "It's okay, Zuku. It's okay. I've got you, honey. It's okay."

"No, it's not." Izuku wails into Kirishima's shoulder.

"Yes, it is. We all have our flaws. We just need to learn how to overcome them." Kirishima kisses the spot behind Izuku's ear, where the scar of a bad memory remains. "I'm here to help you through it all, Zuku. I promise no matter what happens, I'll stay by your side."

"You promise you won't l-l-leave like the others?" Izuku sobs.

Kirishima pulls back, reaching up a hand to wipe the tears off of Izuku's cheeks, kissing them afterwards. "I promise." He whispers the words over red lips, softly kissing them. 

Izuku gasps, trying to kiss back. He looks at Kirishima's lips, then up to those red irises. Izuku looks away, cheeks burning. Kirishima gently grips his chin, tugging his face forward. "How about you eat those apple slices, and I'll take you home?"

Izuku nods, before asking, "We've had feelings for each other for a while now, this I know. The kiss confirmed it. But, I'm wondering if there is someone else that you have a crush on. Perhaps, two other people?"

Kirishima's eyes widened. "How, how'd you know?"

"I've seen the way you interact with 'Roki and Kacchan. It's different in their own right but I can tell you have a crush on them."

Kirishima sighs, rubbing his face. "Izuku-"

"And so do I."

Kirishima stops. He looks at Izuku. "Come again?"

"I mean I haven't known Kacchan all that long yet but I am just drawn to him. He seems so focused on his goals and he seems to know exactly what he wants and that's...attractive to me, in a way. Even with 'Roki, we've been dancing together for two years now. He just has a calming presence and he always has a lending hand. So...that's why...I have a crush on them as well..."

He looks up to Kirishima, who has his mouth wide open. He closes it, clearing his throat. "So, let me get this straight. We're two guys going out together on the low, but we also have a crush on two of the most stoic guys in our classroom? We're some weird motherfuckers." Kirishima chuckles, earning a small giggle from Izuku. "But, it couldn't hurt to take them out on a date and try to win them over."

Izuku raises an eyebrow. "Which one would you want to take out on a date?"

"Eventually both of them. But I would start with Katsuki first, then Todoroki. After that, we'll switch. You take Todoroki on a date first, then Katsuki."

Izuku's mind races a mile a minute, sighing as he sees no clashing problem in doing this. "Alright, let's do it."

Kirishima beams, kissing Izuku's cheek. "Let's just hope they are both on board with this idea."

"Yeah, hopefully."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Until next time!
> 
> Inspiration for their dances:
> 
> Bury a Friend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOH4bX1UR8E
> 
> Chandelier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vjPBrBU-TM
> 
> Barre: a piece of wood or metal that is used for holding on to in the class
> 
> Coupe: means 'cut' or 'cutting'
> 
> Tambe: placing a foot behind you, extending the leg
> 
> Glissage: Jumping from side to side
> 
> Maneage: Jump
> 
> Pirouette: Turns with one leg up by your knee crease
> 
> Fouette: Same as pirouettes, but kicking your leg out when you come down on every other turn


	4. Chapter Three: It's A Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> See the notes at the bottom

"Hah?" Katsuki drawls as he sips from his coffee mug, the drowsiness of still-there sleep is clearly evident in his voice. At eight o'clock on a goddamn Friday morning, Katsuki wakes up yet again to the laughter that is heard from the dining room table downstairs, from Kaminari and Kirishima _yet again_. Fucking idiots, they should know that other people could be still asleep. They have failed to realize this, apparently. What really woke Katsuki up was Kirishima's sudden inquiry. "GO ON A DATE WITH ME!" If that doesn't confuse and startle you in the wee hours of the morning, then I don't know what does.

"What?" Katsuki baffles, walking past Kaminari, who was currently reading yesterdays news and downing a slightly stale bagel. _Seriously, that guy needs to change his eating habits,_ Katsuki thinks as he prepares a mug of coffee for himself. "You want me to go on a date with you? Why? We barely know each other?"

"Well, duh. I know that, Katsuki. Since you're new here and everything, and I kind of want to get to know you better, I'd say a dinner and a movie, then walking along the coast to end the night would be a good way of getting to know each other, don't you think?" Kirishima bats those long, dark eyelashes at Katsuki, smiling brightly.

"You sure have a weird way of getting to know people when you're just starting out as friends." Katsuki furrows his eyebrows, tongue slightly stinging as he takes a sip from his coffee mug. He winces internally.

Kirishima shrugs his shoulders, grin still apparent on his face. "So, is that a no?"

Kaminari looks between the two men, taking a long, noisy sip from his coffee that Katsuki doesn't know how it magically appeared in front of him. With eyebrows raised to his hairline, Kaminari waits for Katsuki's reaction.

Katsuki sighs, running a hand over his face. "Fine, I'll go. But I get to pick the movie. You better not try any nonsense on this little... _conduct,_ of yours." Katsuki growls as he heads from the kitchen towards the set of stairs to get ready for the day ahead of him.

"Call it what you want, Katsuki. Just be ready by seven, okay?"

"Wait a minute, rock-for-brians, we're going out  _tonight_?" Katsuki's eyes are blown wide in disbelief.

"Uh, yeah. Unless you want to push the date back a few days so you mentally prepare yourself for how awesome it's going to be, then I'll accept it on those terms too. Would that make it better?" Kirishima's baby-shark smirk is so smug that Katsuki has half a mind to want to slap it off his face.

"Don't get your boxers in a twist. We can do it tonight, dumbass." Katsuki rolls his eyes as he drags his feet up the stairs. As he heads up the stairs, he can't help but wonder about the energy going on between Izuku and Kirishima. He already agreed to do the date so it was too late to back out now. Might as well ask the dumbass on the date.

* * *

 

"Five, six, seven...stop!" 

It has been two hours since practice has started, and Aizawa has been working the students to the bone. Sweat beats down various foreheads in the room, which has grown uncomfortably hot ever since they have started. Two hours on barre is ridiculous to anybody who can't keep up. But because these are dancers that have constantly been under the teaching of someone like Aizawa Shouta, it is more like second nature. Katsuki realized this a few days ago.

"Good work, today everyone. Put the barres away and replenish yourselves. We will start the floor routine in a few mintues, then move on to Izuku's solo piece. Those who are not in the solo piece will be with Toshinori-sensei, giving you a lesson. That is all."

As the students work to put away the barres, Katsuki swoops down into his black duffel bag (which, technically isn't a duffel bag, more like a oversized book bag...yeah, we'll call it that for now), grabbing his water bottle. He unscrews the top, tilting his head back with the drink, taking a long swig from the bottle before securing the cap on it again, putting the bottle in its rightful place in his duffel bag. Just as he was putting it away, Kirishima (like the literal sunshine he is), Izuku and Todoroki all come up to him, sitting on the floor, crossing their legs. Katsuki joins them.

"Man, practice was brutal. How Aizawa thinks I can do a heel stretch is beyond me. I can barely do a cartwheel correctly." Kirishima complains as he arches his feet, them flexing them, repeating the action a few more times.

"Heel stretches aren't that hard to do. It's like a middle split, but with one leg in the air." Todoroki explains passively, picking at the peeling skin on his pointer finger.

"You can do a heel stretch  _and_ a middle split?"

"Technically, no. I can just do a heel stetch. Midoriya here can do all three splits, which makes sense since he took gymnastics right up until last year." 

Kirishima swivels his head towards Izuku, who was, indeed, doing a right leg split, stretching over his leg. "Why didn't I not know about this?" 

Izuku frowns, his green eyes squinting. "Y-you never asked."

Before anybody could say one more word, Aizawa calls attention to the front of the room, gathering the students in a group huddle on the floor. He runs a hand through dark tresses, sighing in what seems like irritation and annoyance. "I have just recieved the list of different teams attending the competition tomorrow, and one of the groups will be our rivals, the League of Vixens."

Groans sound throughout the room, making Katsuki's eyebrows furrow in confusion and wonder. What were so bad about these guys?

"For those that don't know, the League of Vixens and U.A.'s Dance of Elite have been ongoing rivals for a long time, way before I became a dancing instructor. The League of Vixens is a dance team that performs well in group dances, outdoing us each year. Actually, one person on their team matches Izuku's level of dance skill. Those two compete against each other in solo performances every year, always tying for first place, so they ultimately always have two first place trophies for them. Which is kind of stupid, because it doens't motivate a kid do outdo everyone in the competition if he already knows that they are going to be sharing a first place with someone else. 

They call the president of the League of Vixens _'All For One'_ , no one knows why or how he came up with the name, but that is what they refer to him as. With that said, we will strive to do our best and put our hearts into this performance. I expect everyone to put their all into their performances." Aizawa finishes, looking around the room at the different faces, some gazing back at him with doubt, others will pure determination. Katsuki's heart can't help but hope for the best with this team.

"Let's get to practice."

* * *

 

"Izuku, I want you to rest up for the competition tomorrow. I'm serious. I need you to take a warm bath and especially take care of your feet. Your fittings for the piece will be with me, you just need to bring your nude flats. Understood?" Aizawa questions as the students pack up for the day.

"Mmhmm." Izuku hums, pulling his bag higher on his right shoulder. Today wasn't exactly an off day for Izuku, but he knows just how much is riding on his performance, and this is their first one. He needs to do well in order to receive the high points, so that he can be the only one winning first place. Izuku rubs his pointer finger and thumb together and tucking his lips. Two bad habits that he does when he's nervous.

"I know it isn't fair that Toga keeps getting to share the spotlight with you, but you need to push yourself beyond your limits and do well with this performance. Okay?" After receiving a nod from Izuku, Aizawa claps a hand on his shoulder, letting it rest there for a few seconds before pulling back, and walking out the door.

As soon as Aizawa leaves the room, Kirishima swoops in, his red bookbag sitting on his shoulder, eyes wild with happiness and purity. He reaches into the pocket of his bag, pulling out apple slices, offering one to Izuku, who accepts one readily. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, I guess." Izuku murmurs quietly as they head out of the building, bidding a farewell to Recovery Girl and head for the subway station.

"You nervous for tomorrow?" Kirishima asks as the train bustles and rumbles all around them. Different people leave and enter the train, some standing, some sitting, and some offering their seat to the occassional senior citizen on the moving south coastal.

"Why would you ask that question if you already know the answer to it?" Izuku mumbles, resting his head on Kirishima's shoulder, one hand holding onto his practice bag while the other is holding on to the railing above him. "I just don't want to mess up. It's the first competition of the season, I want to do well."

"You'll be fine, Zuku." Kirishima turns his head into Izuku's overly-damp hair, but finding it endearing as he tries to pull away, complaining that his hair 'probably smells like feet and ass', but Kirishima could care less. "Besides, you've been practicing extra hard for tomorrow. You should just rest your body, ice your feet, and be mentally and physically prepared to give your performance." Receiving a quiet hum from his partner, Kirishima pulls out his phone to check the time.

5:30 pm.

"So, did you get to ask Kacchan out on the date?" Izuku seems almost like a mindreader, as Kirishima was just about to say that he had landed himself a date with the spiky blonde.

"Why, yes I did, dear Zuku. We're going out tonight, actually. A dinner and a movie, then a walk along the beach." Kirishima explains, smiling proudly to himself. He also wonders what he is going to wear for tonight's outing, since his closet mostly consists of muscle tees, jogger sweatpants, and the occasional polo, but Kirishima has worn that shirt out  _years_ ago, and he keeps telling himself to throw it out. Which is why he resorts to plan B: Raid Izuku's closet. "Hey, Zuku. Do you have a shirt and pants that I could borrow?"

Izuku pauses his ministrations (another bad habit of picking at a loose thread hanging off the cotton-white tee that he was currently wearing), looks up at Kirishima with eyes in disbelief, then raising his eyebrow. "Kirishima, you mean to tell me that you have a date tonight, and you didn't think about going shopping beforehand."

Cringing at the lack of emotion in Izuku's voice, Kirishima defends himself. "It's not like I didn't think of a plan, which was to exactly raid your closet and find something nice to wear, since we have similar sizes." Kirishima advances to the first step of plan B: puppy-dog eyes. They're absolutely number one on the list of things that Izuku hates and loves about Kirishima--well, not so much as hate, but more so of the fact that Izuku literally can't look away every time he does that, it's annoyingly cute--and feels himself giving in to the red irises that stare at him, pleading.

Izuku sighs, rubbing a hand over his face. "Fine, we can get off at the next stop towards my house, you're lucky I'm nice."

"You're nice to every living thing on this planet, Zuku. You don't have a single mean bone in your body."

"True."

They get off the train after two more stops, walking up the stairs towards Izuku's home. Opening the door to the very spacious apartment, Izuku places his keys on the round glass table next to the door, taking his shoes off as well, Kirishima following suit.

The living room has a cozy, I-want-to-stay-inside type of decor to it, the couch a healthy charcoal grey, the kitchen following those patterns, it's color pattern black and white. Leading up the small staircase, Izuku's room is the first door on the left, the room next to it, a bathroom. The room across from Izuku's bedroom, a guest room. Izuku's room lines up with framed and pinned pictures of he and his mother, Inko Midoriya. Izuku smiles softly at one of the photos, a photo of baby Izuku trying to fit into his father's pants, seeming so focused on completing the task that he didn't see his mother take the photo. His father said that Izuku would never put on any of his own clothes, just his father's. Oh, he how misses him.

Snapping out of the memory, he walks over to his closet, pulling a sliding door open as he flips through the clothes, mumbling 'no', 'too dark', 'too cringy', 'He is so not wearing this', and finally pulling out a baby blue shirt, the buttons already fastened (thanks to Izuku's OCD), the color already folded in place. Izuku figures this would look really good on Kirishima, since it is a contrast to his already tanned skin. He turns around to Kirishima, who was resting on the bed, playing games on his phone. So he doesn't see it when Izuku murmurs, "Here," and throws the shirt at him.

"Oof!" Kirishima exhales as the shirt lands on his face. He pulls the shirt back, making a whistling noise in appreciation, smiling. "This looks great! Though, why does it look like you ironed it and buttoned it up just to put it back into your closet?"

"Mind your business, that's all. Just mind your business. Here are some pants to go with it."

Kirishima catches another article of clothing in his hand. A pair of acid-washed jeans. "Damn, Zuku. You got taste."

"Shut up." Says a blushing Izuku, he bends down to the floor of his closet, digging for a specific shoe set. Once he finds it, he yelps, 'Aha!' and pulls out black suede loafers, which Izuku wore only once, and that was to a banquet back in his freshman year. He already checked the size, he knows Kirishima can fit them. "Now that you have your outfit, go get dressed." 

"Sir, yes sir." Kirishima salutes, but he doesn't head for the bathroom. Instead, he starts stripping in the middle of Izuku's room, pausing in the midst of taking off his shirt when he hears a gasp from Izuku. "What? What's wrong?"

"W-w-why didn't you go change in the bathroom?!" Izuku exclaims.

"It was too far!" Kirishima tries to defend himself as he continues to take off his shirt. He reaches into his bag to pull out baby wipes, rubbing the wipe under his armpits, his back, chest, across his forehead, even behind his ears. He goes back into his bag to pull out spray-on deodorant. "Besides, I'm already in your room. I've been in your room plenty of times, plus I've seen you half dressed before."

"When?!"

"Back when we were first starting to become friends. You invited me over here to play a board game with you," He pulls on the polo shirt, fixing the collar. He reaches downward to pull off his grey joggers. "Then, I went back downstairs to get me a granola bar and a water from your fridge. I come back upstairs to see you half naked from the waist up, because you forgot to close the door," Kirishima now has on the jeans and is now pulling on the suede shoes. "Lesson of that day: Always close your door when you have guests over." Kirishima laughs loudly at a red-faced Izuku, who is trying his very hardest to look anywhere but at Kirishima. After having his little fun, Kirishima asks, "So, did you ask Todoroki out on a date yet?"

Izuku blinks, finally returning his gaze to Kirishima, who was currently spraying on Axe cologne (Izuku doesn't know why he had it in his bag, but he doesn't want to question it), rubbing his arm. "No. I didn't ask him out yet. I was actually going to do it after the competition tomorrow."

Kirishima nods in confirmation. He walks up to Izuku, placing his hands on his shoulders. His eyes are suddenly serious. "I just want you to know, if we all get together in the end, my feelings for you will never change. You know that, right?"

Shocked, Izuku blinks twice, nodding his head. "Yeah, I know. Same goes for you." He whispers.

Kirishima hums, leaning forward to place a soft kiss on Izuku's lips. "Let's hope this date goes well."

"Have fun. I'll be waiting."

* * *

 

At seven o'clock on the dot, the door to the blonde squad's apartment sounds. Kaminari, who was sitting on the couch, watching an rerun episode of  _Friends,_ jumps up and yells, "I'll get it!" When he sees Kirishima standing at the door, hair spiked to the gods and scent smelling faintly of Axe, Kaminari greets him as he steps to the side to let him in. "Katsuki is finishing upstairs. He has been bugging me for the past half-hour of what he should wear."

"Shut the fuck up, Dunce Face!" Katsuki sounds from his closed bedroom upstairs.

"Love you too, Katsuki!" Kaminari shouts back, earning a chuckle from his childhood best friend. A few more minutes pass by with the two friends chilling on the couch, Kirishima hears a door open, then footsteps on the stairs. He gets up from the couch to look at the sight before him, and tries his absolute best to not melt at the sight of him. 

Dressed in a biker leather jacket, with a yellow turtleneck peeking from underneath, a chain with the word  _Kat_ connected to it, black ripped jeans and combat boots to match, Katsuki looks like he stepped out of a movie. He also noticed that Katsuki has a cartilage piercing in both ears, making his heart race harder and ever faster than before.

Kirishima might just pass out.

"I'm ready whenever you are, Shitty Hair." Katsuki mumbles as he shoves his hands in his jacket pockets. Katsuki looks Kirishima up and down, before internally blushing.  _Shitty Hair knows how to clean up. He doesn't look half bad,_ Katsuki thinks.

"Well, let's get going." Kirishima says, holding out his hand for Katsuki to take. He starts to sweat nervously when Katsuki looks at it for a little too long, sighing in relief when Katsuki reluctantly takes his hand.  _Why the fuck are his hands so soft?_ Kirishima thinks incredulously.

"Have fun, kiddos! Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Kaminari calls, laughing when Katsuki flips him off without looking at him.

* * *

 

As it turns out, Katsuki has great taste in choosing a movie, wanting to see the new Spiderman movie that was released a few days ago in their theatre. Dinner wasn't half bad either, as Kirishima unconciously picked a place that had the world's spiciest wings, which won Katsuki completely over. Kirishima's heart did a little flip in his chest when Katsuki gave him a shy smile from across the table.

Now they were walking along the beach, the sun melting into the sea, painting pink, yellow and orange across the evening sky. The pair was walking in comfortable silence as they stare at the sun, eventually sitting down to relax on the pillows of sand, not caring out how dirty their pants were going to get.

"Of all the places, why did you choose New York?" Kirishima asks, drawing a shark-toothed grin in the sand.

"To get new surroundings. Plus, there were many opportunities to get myself discovered here than anywhere else.  _Plus,_ I got a free room, so it was something I couldn't pass up," Katsuki explains. "Have you always lived in New York?" 

"Nah. I grew up in many places. Thailand was where I mainly resided, but I was born in Japan. Moving around a lot meant I was exposed to different dancing styles, so my love just grew up with me, I guess. It's freeing and lively, and it understands you better than people, don't you think?" Kirishima grins a closed-mouth smile, looking at Katsuki.

Katsuki nods his head. "I understand. Just of curiosity, are you and Izuku--"

"Dating? Yeah." Kirishima confirms, not failing to notice the confusion in Katsuki's eyes. He explains further. "But we are looking for more people to join... per se."

"Come again, Shitty Hair?" Katsuki drags, an eyebrow raising to his ashy blond hairline.

"You see, Zuku and I have gotten together, recently," Kirishima explains. "However, when we got together, we both realized that we have feelings for two other people. One of them, being you."

"The other?"

"Todoroki."

Katsuki's eyes widen at the confession, blush fanning over his apple cheeks. A four-way relationship? Could that even work? Even if they could do it, would one person be jealous of the other? What if one person is doubting it, oh god the breakup would be  _quadruple_ the tears--

"If you don't want to be in a relationship with us, I can understand that. But, I'll only let you decide after Zuku asks you out. It's only fair that you get to experience both of us before making your final decision." Kirishima gives Katsuki a warm smile, one that squeezes Katsuki's heart dry.  _Damn Kirishima and his fucking smile. People shouldn't be able to embody the fucking sun,_ Katsuki thought. He can't really help but feel a little something for Kirishima. Izuku was definitely cute, his talent was unbelievable, and Todoroki was, well, calm. A serene soul. A contrast to Katsuki's wildfire. "But, if it's worth anything, Zuku and I have been fawning over you for the past week since you've showed up. Though you keep to yourself, you have this wildfire inside of you that seems endless. You care about your career, it's evident at practice. You are funny, though you've never mad me laugh before." A snort answers Kirishima. "In all seriousness, you seem like a great person to be around, and we want to experience that on a different level, if you let us."

Katsuki bites his lip in anticipation as he thinks things over. If he decides to date Kirishima and Izuku, and eventually Todoroki, that would mean three incredibly cute guys all for himself, cuddles will become a mandatory thing quadruple the amount, and he gets thrice the kisses in the morning, evening, and nighttime.

Might as well give this a shot.

"Okay, I'll be apart of your guys' relationship," Katsuki agrees, cursing internally as Kirishima grins that baby-shark grin at him once more.  _Seriously, why does he keep doing that?_

"Oh my god, this is the best day of my life. You won't regret dating us, I promise." Kirishima rests back on his elbows, turning his head to stare at the sun, the sky resigning to a navy blue.

"I better fucking not."

"As the newest boyfriend of Zuku and I, I would like to do one thing." Kirishima smirks.

"What," Katsuki deadpans.

"A kiss. On the cheek. Or lips if you want to be bold right off the first date." 

"You motherfucker-"

"I don't fuck mothers, Katsuki. I'm gay."

Katsuki gets up from the sand. "That's it, I'm leaving-"

Kirishima pops up beside him, a hand resting on Katsuki's forearm, tugging him forwards so that their chests are almost pressing. Katsuki prays to the gods above that Kirishima doesn't feel his heart start to beat wildly for  _no fucking reason._ Kirishima tilts his head, ruby eyes boring into Katsuki's identical ones. "C'mon, just one kiss. Then I'll leave you alone."

Katsuki blinks once. "One kiss."

"Yes sir."

"Do I get to pick where?"

"Are you trying to get freaky on the beach?" Eyebrows wiggle up and down.

"I swear to fucking god-"

"Alright, alright! I'm messing with you. Yes, you can pick where."

Katsuki rolls his eyes, his gaze suddenly finding interest in the color of Kirishima's shirt. The shirt r _eally_ looked good against Kirishima's tanned skin, and it drives Katsuki mad. His gaze follows upward to Kirishima's eyes--kind, warm, bright, full of mirth and child's play. He has barely known this fucker for a week and Katsuki is already in too deep to care. 

Without giving Kirishima a reply, he surges forward, placing his lips onto Kirishima's. They were soft, pillowy, plump, supple, and it made Katsuki want to keep kissing him over and over and  _over_ again.

He pulls back, meeting face to face with Kirishima, who is blushing hardcore at Katsuki.

"There."

Kirishima only smiles, placing a strong, big, gentle hand on Katsuki's cheek. He leans in, whispering. "Kiss me like you mean it."

Kaminari could only smirk when he sees Katsuki come through the door, face hazy with memories of lips dancing on his.

* * *

 

Izuku was laying on the couch, watching a recording of himself from the day's practice, when Kirishima came walking through the door. He pauses the video, looking up at his partner. "Hey," He murmurs softly. "How was the date?"

"Awesome for two reasons. One, I kissed Bakugou and he tastes like cherries. Like, seriously Zuku,  _fucking cherries._ " Kirishima sighs dreamily, as if he were some lovesick teenager in a romcom. Izuku chuckles, shaking his head. "Two, I got Katsuki on board with dating us."

Izuku sputters, bolting upright from his place on the couch. "W-w-w-w-what?! How? He barely knows us."

"No shit, Sherlock. I told him that we can build our relationship. We both have things that we like about him, and he agreed to do so. Now, you just need to take Todoroki out Saturday, and then schedule your time with Katsuki, so that I can figure out a date with Todoroki. That way after they went on a date with both us, they'll go on a date with each other, and hopefully things will work out." Kirishima sighs. He notices Izuku's phone in his hand, eyes showing with curiosity. "Is that the video from today's practice?"

"Yeah, I was just watching it so I won't forget the steps and mess up tomorrow," Izuku reasons. He rubs his eyes, laying back down on the couch. "I'll ice my feet and get some rest, I promise."

"Don't promise me. Do it for yourself. You'll be great out there, Zuku. Don't sell yourself short." Kirishima leans down to press a kiss to the top of Izuku's forehead, receiving a small smile from Izuku that sends Kirishima's heart into a frenzy. "Goodnight Zuku. Sweet dreams."

"Sweet dreams, Kiri."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Until next time!


	5. Chapter Four: Let the Best Dancer, Win

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ANGST WARNING! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED OF THE ANGST! IF YOU DON'T LIKE TO READ ANGST, YOU CAN SKIP DOWN TO THE PART WHERE THEY ARE AT THE DANCE COMPETITION!!
> 
> Links to the songs they are dancing to:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOH4bX1UR8E  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vjPBrBU-TM  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43VwsLVTf5Q

At the ripe age of two, Midoriya Izuku lost someone important in his life. His father was someone Izuku looked up to, who inspired him to become a dancer in the first place, and to never let this world take what was his.

The world indeed took what Izuku loved most.

Izuku's parents were both dancers, his parents having both met at an event that was raising money towards kids in need of new homes instead of being put straight into the system. Inko Midoriya came from Thailand, she was in New York for a small amount of time, having it be because of her dance studio could only stay a week at a time. Hisashi Midoriya was born and raised in New York, both of his parents being immigrants from Japan, so he grew up with a mixed cultural background of all sorts of things. These two met by chance at a young age (Inko rather not say. Hisashi just goes along with it), fell in love, and left their dance careers behind when Inko announced that she was pregnant with baby Izuku. 

The two years of Izuku's childhood was filled with nothing but laughter, joy, smiles, and happiness.

That is, until an earthquake hit New York.

They were in their living room, watching Izuku's favorite child's show, when the floor started to rumble beneath the ground. The glasses that were in their rightful places next to their sink of their small kitchen started to fall, smearing glass everywhere. Books fell off the shelves, unlit candles and lamps fell from their rightful places as well. 

Inko and Hisashi shoots up from the couch, racing to take cover.  _"You take Izuku and hide, I'll find shelter for us."_

Inko shakes her head, her hair cover her small face.  _"Are you crazy? What about you? You need to come with us."_

Hisashi sighs, leaning forward to place a kiss on Inko's nose, and a kiss on Izuku's forehead. He meets their gaze, eyes intense and hard.  _"If I don't come back by the time the earthquake passes, come and find me."_   And with that, Hisashi leaves.

Inko has tears in her eyes are swaddles baby Izuku, racing to the basement of their apartment complex to find shelter. Izuku reaches up to look over his mother's shoulder, eyes wide with curiosity.  _"What's happening, mama? Where's daddy?"_

Inko rubs a hand over the back of her son's curly head.  _"Daddy has to take care of something. He'll be back, don't you worry Izuku."_

Izuku gulps, taking his head off of his mother's shoulder, and placing it on her beating heart. It was almost beating too hard, but Izuku didn't want to worry her.  _"Okay, mama."_

Inko finds shelter at last in the basement. She places herself into a corner, her back facing the outside as she cages Izuku in her arms. It feels like forever before the earthquake passes, but it was only four hours. Once the earthquake stops and she can find proper footing on the ground, Inko races up towards their floor to find her husband. As soon as she gets to the floor, with the aftermath of the earthquake before her, Inko's breath hitches. She covers her mouth with one hand, holding Izuku in the other, while simultaneously holding back tears of her own. 

Izuku's big, green eyes widen even more when he sees what has happened. Even as a toddler, Izuku was incredibly smart. It wasn't hard to figure out what happened to their father.  _"Mama, is that daddy?"_ He whispers.

The man in question was buried underneath their family bookshelf, which was once lined with pictures of the small family on various vacations, Izuku's first dance recital, a photo of the couple at their even smaller wedding (only consisted of close family and friends...which wasn't many due to personal reasons), Izuku missing a tooth, Izuku grinning happily when he got his first medal at a dance competition, and personal favorite of Inko's.

A picture of Hisashi and Izuku on the couch, sleeping with the show  _Voltron_ playing in the background.

Now here they are, with a mother holding a child in her arms.

Their father, bleeding on their living room floor.

_"Yes, baby. That's daddy."_

A trip to the ER later that night, with many surgeons and nurses filing in and out of the room, trying to revive life in the father, the heart monitor trying to encourage them to keep going.

Beep. Beep.

Several hours later, Inko has dried tear tracks on her cheeks, her hand absentmindedly running through Izuku's matted curls, her gaze on the white tiled floor of the hospital. She hated hospitals. She believed they only beared bad news.

A nurse walks over to the pair, calling out her name.  _"Are you Inko Midoriya, the wife of Hisashi Midoriya?"_

Inko raises her head, nodding in confirmation.  _"Yes, I am. Is Hisashi okay? Can I come see him?"_

The nurse bites her lip in hesitation as heart cries out to the newest widow. She clears her throat.  _"Um... I'm sorry, Mrs. Midoriya. Your husband didn't make it. He lost too much blood and we tried everything we could. Before we could off the life support, would you like to see him?"_

Inko is at a loss for words. She felt sick to her stomach as she heartbrokenly tries to keep her sobs at bay, trying not to startle her sleeping son. Shoulders shake in agony, tears pouring out of lifeless forest eyes, biting at her lip and curling her hand into a fist, resting it on her knee. Her voice breaks off as she responds to the nurse.  _"Y-y-yes. I would like to see him before you...Izuku, wake up. Let's go see daddy."_ One last time, but it goes without saying. 

The nurse leads them to Hisashi's room, his skin pale to the touch, eyelids closed, but his eyelashes were long. They were always so long, and Inko loved that feature on him. She steps closer to the body, her gaze sad as can be, fingers ghosting over a cold, pale, lifeless cheek. Inko closes her eyes, whispering.  _"I'll see you soon, my love. I'm so sorry to see you go, before Izuku could reach the age of ten. He loves you so much, I love you so much. Please rest well. Watch out for us in heaven."_ She looks down towards her son, who was sleepily rubbing at his eye.  _"Would you like to say goodbye, Izuku?"_

Izuku stops his ministrations as he looks up at his mother, eyes identical to Hisashi's. Round, full of mirth and excitement, always up to good intentions and keeping a smile on everyone's faces.  _"What happened to daddy?"_

Inko reaches down to pick up her son, tucking a kiss onto the back of his ear.  _"Izuku, dear. Daddy went to heaven. He won't be back for a very long time. Say what you need to say now. We won't have much time."_

Izuku looks down at his father, placing a tiny hand on his clothed chest. 

_"When you get back, can you tell me stories about heaven?"_

* * *

As it turns out, Izuku knew his father was never going to come back. He figured  _that_ out when he turned fourteen.

The kids in his school were always picking on Izuku, saying that it was gay to twirl around in a skirt (which was not true, technically. Women wore the tutus, but the men wore leggings and a shirt. Stupid pricks), and to jump up and down in pointy shoes (which, again was technically inaccurate. Pointe shoes were made for women more than men. Stupid fucking pricks). But one day was an equally good and bad day for Izuku.

He was outside in the garden during his lunch when a group of kids walked up to him.  _"Hey kid, gimme your lunch."_ The leader, Izuku assumed, demanded as he held his hand out. 

Izuku raises an eyebrow at the kid, before digging back into his bento box to eat some more.  _"N-no thanks. I'm s-s-selfish when it c-c-comes to food. So leave me a-a-alone._ "

He really didn't sound intimidating with his speech impediment, though Izuku stood his ground.

The kids looked at each other, bursting out into laughter. Izuku rolls his eyes. The leader catches it, growling and leaning into Izuku's personal space.  _"Give. Me. Your. Lunch. Money. Your stupid stuttering problem isn't threatening to us. Maybe if you didn't have it, your father would still be here now."_

 _"N-n-no!"_ Izuku shouts in protest as the kid snatches his bento box, the others following suit, grabbing his bookbag and other things, running off with them. Izuku gives into the chase, and starts to sprint after them. _"Give it back!"_

 _"So long loser!_ The leader taunts as he runs into a rock hard chest. He gulps as he looks up, staring into red eyes. They were burning into the kid's skin, not blinking once. Izuku jogs to a stop, a few feet away from the scene. The leader of the wannabe pack clears his throat.  _"Kirishima! What are you doing here?"_

 _"Figuring out why you couldn't just get a free lunch from the cafeteria, so you had to take someone else's lunch."_ The boy, now known as Kirishima, deadpans, cocking his head to one side.  _'That's not cool, man. In fact, that's kind of prissy if you ask me. Taunting others because of what they're going through and how they speak. I saw the whole thing so don't you dare try to cover up."_ Kirishima leans in, snatching the stolen items from the bullies, his smirk feral and wide, midnight hair falling in front of his eyes, but that doesn't cover the intensity within them.  _"If I catch you punks bullying anymore kids, I'll personally rip your heads off myself. Is that clear?"_

 _"Yes, Kirishima!"_ The leader is nodding his head so hard, Izuku has half a mind to worry that it's going to fly off.

 _"Good. Now get out of my sight."_ Kirishima threatens one last time before the bullies scurry off in a random direction. He scoffs at the group, before turning his gaze towards a speechless Izuku. Kirishima blinks twice, walking up to the teen with his items in hand.  _"Are these yours?"_

Izuku rubs at his nose, a nervous habit might I add, and responding to the question.  _Y-y-yes these are mine. Thank you, Kirishima."_

Kirishima shrugs his shoulders, hoisting his bag higher on one shoulder.  _"No problem. And your name is...?"_

 _"Izuku! Midoriya Izuku!"_ Izuku scurries to put his things in his bag, holding out a hand to shake.

Kirishima accepts the gesture, giving Izuku a firm shake as well.  _"Kirishima Eijirou. Nice to meet you."_

 _"Y-y-you too."_ Izuku stammers. The bell sounds, signaling for them to return to class.  _"W-well. I should get g-g-going now. See you a-around."_

Izuku walks past Kirishima and into the building. A hand grips his shoulder, turning him around. Izuku comes face to face with Kirishima, who was grinning slightly.  _"Rumor has it that you do dance. Is that correct?"_

Izuku blushes profusely as he twists and bends his fingers, not giving an answer right away.  _"I-if I did, why do you c-care?"_

_"Because I dance too, and I'm actually looking for new recruits."_

Okay, that was  _not_ the answer Izuku thought he was going to get. He furrows his eyebrows as he looks up at Kirishima, who was smiling with all of his teeth. My, my, Kirishima what not-so-scary teeth you have.

 _"You see, I am apart of an elite dance group and each year we try to at least get someone to join the team. I figured if you are already a dancer like those idiots say you are, then our classes shouldn't be a problem for you. Classes are free to members and you just need to bring your A-game if you wanna win competitions."_ Kirishima still has that wide smile on his face.  _"So what do you say, you in?"_

Many years later, Izuku has never regretted that decision.

* * *

 

It is now Saturday, the day of the dance competition. All the dancers meet out front of the dance studio at approximately nine in the morning, the sun already set in its place in the blue skies above the sleepy adults. Izuku is one of the first people to show up, eating a bagel and typing away to text his mother. 

**Inko**

Do great, my son! I'm proud of you no matter what! I love you!

Izuku smiles before typing out his response.

**Izuku**

I will, thank you! I love you too!

He puts away his phone as others start to arrive, greeting them as the coach bus pulls up to the front of the building, the students climbing on board. Izuku takes the seats in the back, figuring he could catch a nap on the way there, and listen to the song on repeat.

"Ah, good morning, Midoriya."

Izuku looks to his right to see Todoroki standing in the aisle, his red and white hair tied in a loose bun at the top of his head, making the attention more focused towards his heterochromatic eyes. One brown, one blue.

Izuku freaking hates how beautiful those eyes look.

"Good morning, 'Roki," Izuku greets as Todoroki takes a seat across from him. "How'd you sleep?"

"Like a log, but I suppose I could just sleep on the way to the competition." Todoroki looks over to Izuku's seat, book in hand. "I see we had similar ideas."

Izuku looks down to see his cotton blue blanket draped over his legs, with a neck pillow propped against the seat behind him. He also had his headphones wrapped around his neck, ready for use. Izuku blushes. "I guess so."

Todoroki gives a small smile as he turns his attention back to the book he was reading. 

"Morning, everyone!"

The cheerful voice to Kirishima rings through the bus as he takes the seat in front of Izuku, wearing a black atheltic jacket with the company's logo on the backside in white blod letters. Katsuki trailing silently behind him, rubbing at his eyes before plopping himself down in front of Todoroki. Kirishima pouts. "Aw, Kat. You don't want to sit with me?"

"I need space when I sleep, rock-for-brains. Plus I like having seat all to myself anyways." Katsuki grunts, placing his headphones in his ears before closing his eyes. 

"That makes sense. Sleep tight, Katsu-babe." Kirishima smiles, finally sitting down in his seat.

That catches Todoroki's attention. "Did you just call Bakugou 'Katsu-babe'?" Todoroki questions.

Kirishima rubs a hand on the back of his neck, blushing slightly. "Yeah. We're kind of together now, so I gave him that nickname."

Todoroki raises an eyebrow, placing a bookmark in the place of the page he was last reading. "Kind of? You're kind of dating?"

"No, we definitely are! I just didn't want to just outright say, 'Hey, everyone! Katsuki and I are dating!' to the entire world. So I just am telling close friends first, then eventually to the entire world." Kirishima murmurs. 

"But aren't you and Midoriya dating?" Todoroki presses.

"He knows about me and Katsuki. Let's just leave it at that." Kirishima manages to say as Aizawa climbs the bus and does a headcount of the students present. Todoroki hums to himself,twisting his mouth as he opens his book once more, reading the page he left off. He catches a glimpse at a sleeping Izuku, many thoughts and unanswered questions running through his head.

"Where's Kaminari?" Todoroki inquires.

"He had to take care of something with the boombox, so he'll be meeting us there."

They all finally go to sleep.

* * *

 

Once the students arrive after a painstaking hour and a half of riding on the bus (with Kirishima wanting to play video games with the sleeping people around him, before Katsuki finally gave in, but only agreeing to watch a movie with him), the students trample out of the vehicle and into the building to check in and do a run-through of their routines.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't U.A.'s Dance of Losers," A voice calls out. "I'm delighted to see you."

Another voice rings out, sounding higher pitched. "Ooooo, and it looks like they've got someone new with them. What a delicious surprise!"

Aizawa keeps himself from rolling his eyes as he addresses the person talking to him. "Ah, yes. Dabi, right?" He looks over to the woman standing next to the man. "And Toga Himiko. Where's your third idiot?"

"Shiggy had family matters to take care of, so he sent just us two and Twice to take care of things." Toga informs, not going to address the fact that Aizawa basically calls them idiots. She looks over Aizawa's shoulder to look at the students behind him. Well, more specifically Katsuki more than anybody else. "Hi, there! You must be new to this cast of wannabes. The name's Toga Himiko. I'm a third year with the company League of Vixens, I'm sure you've heard of me."

"Not really, no." Katsuki states, wondering why this girl is still talking to them and why they haven't walked away by now.

"Hmmm, Shouta has never mentioned me before? Weird!" Toga giggles. Her eyes shift focus. "Hey, Izuchan!"

Izuku was just finished from rubbing sleep from his eyes when he hears his nickname call out through the air. "H-hi, Toga." He murmurs. 

"I absolutely cannot wait for our solos. I feel we'll be tying again this year, then again I think I'll be taking home gold. You look better with silver...or bronze." Toga smirks. "Well, I'll see you inside! Bye, Shouta! Let's go Dabi."

Dabi gives them one last look, before turning around, disappearing into the crowd.

Kirishima comes up next to Izuku, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Don't listen to her, Zuku. She's just trying to psych you out. You know your dance routine through and through, we'll show her."

Izuku nods absentmindedly. His gaze is focused on the cement ground.

"Izuku, Kirishima is right. Don't listen to Toga. From what I remember, she has been bringing home more bronzes and silvers than I can count on both fingers. She'll be eating her words. Let's go into the dressing rooms to get ready for the group number. Make sure you drink water and eat a light snack before we go on. We don't anybody going to the hospital today." Aizawa instructs, leading them to the building after checking them in. 

The building itself was an old opera house, seating about 10,000 people at a time. The stage itself takes up more than half of the room, with the pit in front being the soundboard, now a table rests there where judges will be watching the routines and scoring them. 

The dance team groups in a large changing room, which doubles as a practice room and a place of doing makeup and a curtain hangs in the corner of the room, where someone can change behind if they're feeling a little shy about their body.

Izuku uses tha curtain every time he has a competition.

"Alright, after you are changed, I want you to run through the group routine first, go through it until you are sure you know all the steps. Izuku, after you practice the dance routine, practice your solo performance. Make sure you are comfortable with the steps, having them memorized in your head. We go on at 11:45, Izuku goes on at three. Understood?" Aizawa recieves numerous head nods. "It is currently 10:39 a.m. Get changed."

As the students take their rightful spots in the room to change, some getting dressed in groups, and one Izuku racing to the curtain to get dressed in his costume. He had two costume changes today, but since there was enough time in between the group and the solo routine, he wasn't too worried. 

Kirishima slips on the baggy shirt, decorated with many holes around his shoulders, torso, back and arms, pulling on the black joggers that went along with it. He looks over to Katsuki, who was just wearing Kirishima's dance jacket (his didn't come in yet), playing on his phone, while Todoroki was dressed in similar attire, his long red-white hair falling over his shoulders and down to his back. If you looked at him from the back, you would think he was a girl.

A well-toned, lean, stoic, girl.

Kirishima wraps his arms around Katsuki's waist, resting his chin over his shoulder, watching Katsuki watch a video of a tutorial on something that looked too hard for Kirishima to comprehend himself, so he doens't bother with asking questions. 

Todoroki still finds the whole Kirishima-dating-Katsuki-but-dating-Izuku-as-well-but-Izuku-isn't-dating-Katsuki-just-Kirishima dynamic weird, but it's their life. Let them do what they please.

Izuku comes out at last, joining the group, dressed in the attire Kirishima and Todoroki is dressed in, but he was wearing leggings instead of black pants or black joggers. 

Weird tidbit: Izuku owns little to no pairs of jeans of any kind. He was lucky when he found some for Kirishima. 

"I find our costumes very comfortable." Todoroki murmurs, looking at Izuku.

Izuku nods in agreement as he fixes the hems on his leggings. "I r-really like these c-c-costumes more than t-t-the others a long time a-ago."

"Ah yes. Remember when Kirishima had to wear a corset for one of the performances and it nearly caused him to lose a lung?"

Izuku giggles as Kirishima gapes and Katsuki has a secretive smile, though it wasn't pointed out whether it was at the video or at the conversation. "That was one time! Remember we had to cover you in pink paint for the Valentine's Day Parade?"

"I still don't understand why it had to be me, though."

"You have red and white hair. Mix those together you get pink. It just makes sense."

"I guess."

Once all the students were changed into their rightful clothes, it was 11:00. They basically had fifteen minutes to run through the dance, because they needed to be behind the stage around 11:30, which was an intense time crunch, and they'll have to be quick about it.

Kaminari manages to get there just in the knick of time with the both of the edited songs on two separate CDs. One listed as 'Bury the Mf Friend' and the other listed as 'Izuku's Solo-Dolo Performance'. Why Kaminari decided to name the CDs like that Aizawa will never know and will never  _want_ to know. Aizawa takes the first disc and places it in the boombox Kaminari brought along as well, playing the song as the students went over it about two times.

"Time to roll out. Gather around." The students gather around Aizawa, waiting further instructions. "Do your best, and give it your all. Don't hold back, because I will notice. Break a leg."

Everyone is behind the curtains by the time it is 11:30, the other groups having already gone out and doing their dance. It's 11:40 by the time it is U.A.'s time to shine. Aizawa, Katsuki and Kaminari are sitting in the audience lights dimmed and shining on the stage. 

"Please welcome, U.A.'s Dance of Elite!"

* * *

 

"Man, I feel great!" 

Kirishima exclaims this as others around him catch their breath. He didn't feel breathless at all, just a big ball of energy and he didn't know what to do with it.

"That was exhilirating. Though I must say we did amazing out there." Todoroki states, running a hand through his bangs, which were slightly covering his face.

Neither Kirishima or Izuku should have found that sight endearing.

"I-I agree," Izuku chirps. "T-the dance w-was super g-good. I felt o-out of my element a-a little bit."

"That's because we're used to doing light dances, Zuku. Speaking of which, you need to get ready for your solo." Kirishima points out as they walk back towards their changing rooms.

"T-thanks for r-reminding me." Izuku mumbles. "I j-just hope I do w-well."

"You'll do great, Midoriya." Todoroki takes a swig of water and a cracker from a small Ziploc bag, popping it in his mouth. "Besides, you already know all the steps to your routine, you can do it."

Izuku smiles shyly. "T-thanks 'Roki."

"Oh, that reminds me! Zuku, weren't you going to ask Todoroki something?" Kirishima asks out of blue. Really, it had nothing to do with the conversation they were discussing right now, and Izuku really wishes for a magic wand, just so he could poof himself out of there.

Todoroki raises a white eyebrow. "Really?" He turns to Izuku, not seeming to recognize how Izuku was giving Kirishima pleading eyes. "Ask me what?"

"U-um," Izuku stammers. "W-well, I was...u-um, kind of w-wondering...if you, y-ya know...w-want to go out with me? A-after the competition t-today..." Izuku whispers so softly, Todoroki almost misses the question entirely. "I-if you don't w-want to-"

"I would love to accompany you, Midoriya." Todoroki interrupts, earning a surprised gaze from both Kirishima and Izuku. "But aren't you and Kirishima together...and isn't Bakugou dating Kirishima... so how does your relationship work exactly?"

Kirishima and Izuku share a look with one another, using telepathic communications, either that or Todoroki really just doesn't know what the two are thinking. "I can explain e-everything over the date." Izuku reasons. "If that i-is alright with you."

Todoroki takes a real good look at Izuku. He and Izuku have been on the same dance team since they were in high school, meeting up at the studio to dance, talk, to gossip and just overall succeed together. If you asked Todoroki back then if he didn't feel anything towards Izuku, he would agree with you. Now, they're in the present, with Izuku looking at him with those big green eyes, a freckled face, a smile that sends his heart racing every time--though he doesn't show it--and a heart that's so kind and full of compassion and understanding, if you were to ask Todoroki that same question now.

He would absolutely disagree with you.

"It's a date then. We can head to a cafe of your choosing after the competition today. Though, you're paying." Todoroki tells him, a small smile gracing his face.

Izuku blushes a scarlet red, nodding his head profusely. "O-ok! It's a d-date then!" He then checks the time on his phone, eyes widening comically. "Oh sh-shoot! I need to g-get dressed!"

He races off to his duffel bag to get changed for the next performance, slipping off the costume he was currently wearing to put on a completely different costume, slipping on his foot undies as well (they were moreso for your toes rather than your whole foot, so they look like underwear for your toes, hence the name foot undies), and fixing any last minute changes to his costume. Aizawa walks in, papers in hand and a CD in another, going right towards Izuku, checking for any nooks and crannies that needs to be taken care of. Katsuki is behind him, branching off to be with his new boyfriend and dance partner.

When he finds none, Aizawa puts his hands on Izuku's shoulders, firmly turning him so they were face to face. "Midoriya, you are up in a half hour. I need you to run through the routine and make sure you drink some water before you go out on stage. You can do it. Don't listen to what Toga said. You rock. Show the world what you can do."

Finding comfort in his teachers words, Izuku nods firmly, rolling out the knicks in his nest and doing final stretches before practicing the routine.

Kirishima, Katsuki, and Todoroki stand and watch from the side. "I know for certain that he is going to get the trophy this year." Kirishima claims.

Todoroki and Katsuki nod in unison. "It's no doubt that he can get first place. However, you know how Midoriya gets. He gets completely shy and let's other people's words get the best of him."

Katsuki grunts. "Freaking idiot needs to learn to think for himself. He knows he can do it, he just needs to tell himself that."

Kirishima hums in agreement, wrapping a loose arm around Katsuki's waist, nudging him closer. He steals a look at Izuku.

His eyes are set, sharp and laser focused. Izuku knows the dance by heart and has spent countless nights completing the stupid turns for his own benefit and Aizawa (he knew , better than to tell Aizawa that he couldn't do it), flipping over and over again to get himself in the right spot, at the right beat of the music, at the exact moment of clarity. Izuku knows a lot is riding on him to land as number one. He knows that.

He just hopes he doesn't mess up.

* * *

 

"Please welcome League of Vixens own, Toga Himiko!"

The audience gives the girl a warm welcome as she walks onto the stage and in her rightful position. As the music starts and she does her routine, Izuku is backstage, watching her, eyes wide as he realizes that she has upped her game too. The last time they competed against each other, she was on a basic level. She could only do simple turns and spins. Now, she's doing acrobatical techniques that will surely get her points.

Izuku turns around, facing Kirishima, Katsuki and Todoroki, there to give emotional support and reassurance. Oh boy, could he use a lot of reassurance right about now. "G-guys, I don't know i-if I can do this. W-what if I t-take a mis-step and I bomb t-the entire performance. I d-don't want to let anybody down-"

"Zuku. Breathe. In and out. Do it with me. In," Kirishima takes a step closer to Izuku, placing a hand on his chest, over his fast-beating heart. "Out. In. Out. In. Out."

They repeat the steps a few more times before Izuku feels calm again, also feeling that slight embarrassment of almost having a panic attack. This is how it has always been. Izuku freaks out right before going on stage, Kirishima is always there to reassure him.

"You can do it, Midoriya." Todoroki muses. He was currently watching a how-to video over Katsuki's shoulder, who has been silent this whole time. Nothing's wrong with him, he just didn't have anything to say in that given moment. "You just need to believe in yourself."

"Yeah. Listen to half-and-half, don't listen to that wannabe that's dancing right now. You know your shit. Show them how Izuku Midoriya really dances." 

Izuku is also a really emotional person at heart, so really anything anybody says can make him cry tears of joy, laughter, or sadness.

 _I have a group of supportive people right in front of me,_ Izuku notes.  _I have to do this not only for them, but for myself. I need to do this for my mom who is cheering me on at home, for Aizawa, for the team, and for those that don't have a voice._

_I can do this._

The cheers from the audience pulls Izuku out of his thoughts, turning around to see Toga walking off stage towards him. She smirks lightly as she walks past him, whispering in his ear,  _"I set the bar high out there. Are you bold enough to surpass it?"_

Izuku gasps, eyes fluttering as she keeps walking, as if she didn't just try to intimidate him. He has his hands in fists swerving around to her back. "Say it to my face, not to my ear. And yes, I will pass your bar. In fact, I'm going to knock it down and set a better one." 

Kirishima's mouth falls open.

Katsuki pauses his video to look up at the commotion with a raised eyebrow.

Todoroki has his mouth in a twist, but his face remains expressionless.

It is so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Toga stops in her tracks, not turning around when she says. "Yeah, okay." 

She walks away.

Izuku sighs, running a hand down his face, before feeling two pairs of arms wrap around him, and then a pair of lips kissing him on the head. "Destroy that bitch, Zuku." Kirishima.

A hand ruffles his curly green hair. "Let her suffer in silver while you're swimming in gold." Todoroki.

Another hand pats him on the back. "Flip that bitch straight off the rankings." Katsuki.

Izuku almost cries at the support. But once he starts, it doesn't stop.

They all simultenously pull back from Izuku, watching him turn around to face the stage.

It's go time.

Deep breath.

"Please welcome U.A.'s Dance of Elite, Izuku Midoriya!"

In.

Out.

* * *

 

"OH MY GOD YOU DID SO GOOD!" Kirishima yells as soon as Izuku walks off stage. He picks Izuku off of the ground, earning a yelp from the smaller boy, spinning him around in the air. "YOU DID AMAZING! HOLY COW I COULD CRY!"

"P-put me down, Kirishima!" Izuku giggles, his hands scrambling for a grip on Kirishima's shoulders. 

Kirishima puts him down after a few more spins. "I'm sorry. It was just so moving! It was incredible!"

"Indeed it was." Todoroki agrees from his spot next to Katsuki, who was watching the whole interaction with sealed fascination. "This performance might be one of my favorites that you have done so far."

"Agreed, and I've only been here for a week." Katsuki points out.

"G-guys, you're making me b-blush." Izuku covers up his red face with his hands, holding them tighter to his face when Kirishima tries to pull them away. 

"Come on, everyone. It's time we head back for the awards ceremony." They didn't realize that Aizawa was standing at the entryway, waiting for them to be done with whatever they were doing. 

The ceremonies go like this: for each category, there can only be five places. The lower the number of penalties, the higher you score. In order to get a perfect score, your number would have to be one hundred. To get second, it would be ninety. It goes down by ten points each time. The dancers sit on stage as they wait for their names to be called, or not. It really does feel like God is deciding to put you either in heaven or hell.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, how are we doing today?" A man by the name of Hizashi Yamada, aka Present Mic, aka Aizawa's husband, is doing the announcements of the winners. "Let's start with the group dance category. In fifth place we have: The Ten Steppers!"

The audience claps warm and encouragingly as the captain of the team goes up to recieve their medal, a handshake, and a picture taken. "In fourth place we have: The Ivy Team!"

"In third place: The Raging Roulettes!"

"In second place, receiving a small trophy and a plauqe. We have: The Windbreakers!"

"In first place, recieving a massive trophy, a plaque, and a signed autograph of yours truly," Present Mic gestures to himself. Aizawa face palms in the audience. "It is the one and only: U.A.'s Dance of Elite!"

The crowd goes wild at their name, Todoroki standing to go receive the trophy, holding it for a picture, his face stoic as the day is long. "Let's give it up one more time for the group dances!"

After the applause dies down a bit, Present Mic moves on to the next category. "Alright cats and dogs, it is time for the solo performances. In fifth place, we have Neijre Hado, with a score of 52 points!" 

 _Dang,_ Kirishima thinks.  _He really didn't need to put her points out there though._

"In fourth place. We have Cady with a score of 60 points!"

"In third place, receiving a bronze medal and a ribbon, it is Star with a score of 70 points!"

"In second place, receiving a silver medal, a trophy and a ribbon, we have..."

 _Please don't let it be me._ Izuku prays to up above.

 _Let it be him._ Toga thinks.

"League of Vixens own Toga Himiko with a score of 80 points!"

The world stops around Izuku as Toga begrudginly gets up, giving a tight-lipped smile to the awards man.

_Could it be...?_

"Receiving a trophy, a gold medal, a plaque and another signed autograph, please give a round of applause to first place winner for U.A.'s Dance of Elite, Izuku Midoriya!"

The crowd roars, and so does Kirishima, pulling Izuku into a tight hug. Izuku's eyes start to water with tears of joy as he gets up to receive his award. Izuku gives a watery smile to the camera as he stands next to Toga, who is fuming.

My, my, my. How everything is right in the world.

* * *

 

"Stop it right there, Izuchan!"

Izuku was chatting with his friends when he heard his name was called. He turns around to see Toga standing there, arms crossed over her chest. Her eyes are set in ablaze as she stomps towards him. She points a finger in his face. "I was supposed to get that trophy, not you! After all the stunts I pulled in that dance, I should have gotten enough points to get that trophy, you and I both know it."

Izuku shrugs. "Hmm, maybe you're right. But to be fair, your skill in those pirouette turns were not up to par, your steps were not finished, your arms didn't fall in sync with your movements at all. In fact Toga, it is amazing how you landed in second place after all. You should be grateful and use this as a learning experience. I worked my ass off day and night to get this trophy, and for you to sit there and whine about getting  _second place_ shows me that you've been pampered for too long. This world is not always going to be lenient like the judges were with the second place they gave you today, so just take this as a learning experience and  _move on_."

Toga stands there, wide-eyed and shocked into silence. Izuku huffs in annoyance. "Now, if you'll excuse me I have a date with a boy that I like very much, and I don't want to waste time getting ready by keep talking to you. Goodbye and see you next time, Toga Himiko."

He stalks off towards the bus. Kirishima, Katsuki and Todoroki watching the whole exchange in rapt silence.

* * *

 

"Thanks for agreeing to go on this date with me. I really appreciate it."

Izuku and Todoroki were currently sitting in a warm cafe, both ordering coffee--Izuku's black with tons of sugar, Todoroki's with light cream, small doses of sugar-- sitting at a square table. The atmosphere is calm, serene, safe, and Todoroki is almost glad of letting Izuku choose the cafe. He comes to this one all the time. "No, I should be thanking you. After all, you did offer to take me on a date. Besides, consider it winding down after your big win from the competition today."

Izuku blushes. "Thanks, 'Roki," He stirs the spoon around in his cup. "Um, so I bet you have questions about the whole dating ordeal with me, Kirishima and Katsuki, and how it involves you." After receiving a nod from Todoroki, he continues. "Well, when Kirishima and I first started dating, we both also realized that we have feelings for other people. Two, specifically. You, and Katsuki. We had a whole plan of taking you both on separate dates, so we can talk to you guys separately. 

We both find you guys really attractive, smart, incredibly talented and your support at the competition today cemented my feelings for you. If you want to, you can be apart of the relationship. If not, I understand that, too." Izuku finishes, holding his breath as he waits for Todoroki's response.

"When I first met you guys, you both attracted me right away. Izuku, you are compassionate about anything you set your mind to. Kirishima is, nice and supportive and beautiful--you both are-- and I just wanted to be apart of that for a long time now. So, yes, Midoriya. I would love to be apart of your relationship." Todoroki blushes bashfully, and Izuku wants to photograph it and keep it for the rest of his life.

"Really? You don't have any questions about how this is going to work or anything like that?" Izuku assures. He doesn't want Todoroki to feel uncomfortable with anything in this relationship. That is the last thing he wants.

"I'm sure I will have questions about it sometime in the future. Right now, I'm positive I want to be in a relationship with you guys." Todoroki firmly states.

Izuku's smile is like a thousand watts. "So...should we seal the deal then?"

Todoroki raises an eyebrow. "Are you asking me what I think you're asking me?"

"Yeah," Izuku answers. "If you want to."

"I mean, yeah. If you meet me halfway." Todoroki starts to lean over the table. Izuku follows suit, reaching his torso across the table. Soft lips meet even softer lips.

It tastes of coffee, sugar, and it is sweeter than they both imagined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! See you all next time!


	6. Chapter Five: Awakenings and Spicy Secrets (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, you will learn about our spiky-haired baby, also yes I am doing the dates back to back. It makes it easier to do it that way (for me at least), but this one will be all four of them combined.
> 
> This is part one of a two-part chapter. So I meant for the ending to be abrupt

_Let's make a deal_

_Bitch be for real_

 

* * *

 

Kirishima Eijirou had a gay awakening when he was around the age of fourteen, around the exact same time he met Midoriya Izuku. But, let me note that Kirishima didn't have the gay awakening  _because_ of Izuku, he was just there when it happened. You see, Kirishima was questioning his sexuality prior to that day, months, even. He has been questioning it so much in fact, his two mothers asked him, "Honey, are you having a gay awakening and you don't know it yet?"

He wants to say they aren't right, but damn it, they hit the nose on this one. 

Born and raised in a Japanese household that contradicted with the already cultural streets of the Queens, Kirishima was more than bound to be exposed to life outside of his home. Nobody had a problem with it, they just knew that this was a lifestyle he had to adjust to, and Kirishima welcomed it with open arms. Being raised with two mothers, Kirishima loved his mother and mama very dearly, and saw them as heroes in their own right, what with his mother being a retired military veteran and his mama the nurse caring for his mother, they fell in love. The two women, before they had Kirishima, conversed about wanting to adopt a baby or getting a surrogate.

Either way, they were going to get a child.

The way Kirishima came about was a tragic story in itself, him coming from a home of drug addicts, pimps, prostitutes and the occasional stripper (his mother maybe? Auntie? Whoever it was, they were getting cash) coming around and putting on a show every once in a while. His father at the time ran the strip club, and had a streak of abuse to his counterparts and offspring, including Eijirou. Kirishima was only two, with no idea what was going on, because it never happened in the daytime, and his father would never hurt Kirishima in the daytime.

That's when Kirishima learned to fear the nightfall.

One particular night in the house, his father was drunk out of his mind. In fact, he was so drunk that the woman whom he was with (who was also drunk) sobered up quickly when he saw Kirishima sitting on the couch, with his babysitter next to him. In a druken rage, Kirishima's father lashed out towards the two on the couch, the woman behind him trying to keep him at bay, but failing miserably.

His hands were secured tight around Kirishima's throat, cutting off the airwaves in his system. The noises in the background start to fade away, the last thing he sees is someone holding a phone to the ear, calling the police.

He wakes up in a hospital bed. He doesn't know how he got there or why he is there, but he is in a comfortable bed instead of the air mattress he'd grown accustomed to sleeping on.

Kirishima looks down to see a needle in his left arm, and his right arm propped on a pillow, a bandage securing around his shoulder. What exactly  _did_ happen last night?

"Ah you're awake."

Kirishima turns his gaze towards the lady at the door, a woman dressed in a white coat, a stethoscope draped around her neck, a sandy brown clipboard in hand, with a kind smile on her face. "Where am I?" his voice is small, frail, and it absolutely breaks the woman's heart. She's glad that they put that man in jail for domesitc abuse.

"You're in a hospital room, sunshine. I'm Nurse Ukiyo, and I will be attending to your needs today," Ukiyo now states, looking over the monitors to check and see if anything needs to be fixed or refilled in his vital needle. "Do you remember how you got here?" A shake of the head responds. "Well, a lady at your home called and said a man was hurting you, and they rushed you here. You fell onto the floor, and broke your shoulder, and your lungs just needed some air in them. You'll be staying in here for a while until we can find someone to take care of you."

Kirishima nods his head quietly as he takes in all of this information. Nurse Ukiyo gave a sad grin and went back to looking over the machines and his health statuses. She then hears a sniffle from behind her. Swiveling around, she sees Kirishima on the bed, crying and hanging his head in shame. She walks over and crouches down in front of him. "What's wrong, dear? Are you hurt?" A nod of the head, and with that Ukiyo looks around him, trying to find the source of the injury. "Where does it hurt, sweetheart?"

"M-my heart hurts," Kirishima wails. "N-no one loves m-me. D-daddy hurt me. I'm a bad b-boy." His sentences are cut off, sobs ripped out of him and into the open air of the chilly hospital room, and Ukiyo's heart breaks even more. 

"Oh, honey, it's not your fault," Ukiyo shakes her head, trying to reason. 

"Yes it is," Kirishima cries. "No one is coming to get me. I have nowhere to go. Daddy was my only way home. I'm stuck here forever." 

Ukiyo bites her lip as she watches Kirishima cry his little heart out, not knowing how to comfort the small noirette. 

Fast forward to a few years (long nights of crying, adoption papers going through and proper introductions of Ukiyo's partner, Yoroshiku), Kirishima is moved into a cozy little home back in his hometown of Queens, with two women and a pet dog named Sugar. Kirishima likes the black Lab, he's like a real-life plush toy.

"So, Kirishima. This is your new home, buddy. You can watch T.V. and eat pizza as much as your heart desires!" Yoroshiku exclaims, smiling brightly. As it turns out, Yoroshiku (or, Yoro, as she wants him to call her), is a polar opposite of Ukiyo. Yoroshiku was loud, outgoing, and adventurous while Ukiyo was a bookwarm, and opted to stay inside at any given time she can get. How they actually managed to attract each other Kirishima will never know. He looks around the living room, seeing pictures of the couple with a younger girl, holding a shiny medal in her hands, a smile spread wide across her face. Yoroshiku notices Kirishima glancing at the picture, grinning to herself. "That was a good day for our goddaughter. She won her first gold medal in her dance competition. She was so happy about it."

"Dance?" Kirishima questions. "I like to dance."

Ukiyo raises an eyebrow. "Really? Well, tell you what, we'll enroll you into some dance classes and we'll see how you like them."

Ever since that day, Kirishima has been dancing like he needs it to breathe. He initially started out with taking basic ballet classes that helped him gain balance, momentum, strength in his arms, as well as an artistry and a sense of belonging that he hasn't felt since he was a kid. Kirishima wanted to keep this feeling forever, he didn't want to feel like a burden like the way his father made him feel. He wanted to feel important, to something, some _body._

As years passed and by the time he was enrolled into U.A.'s Dance of Elite, he realizes that if he could make a career out of this thing, that would be great. If not, then he would need a backup career just in case. Thus, he was hired to be a therapist in training for those who came from abusive homes. Giving back to those who came from the same struggle like he did, helped his mind be at ease.

But, back to the gay awakening.

Kirishima had the gay awakening around the time he met Izuku, yes (that time, Izuku really confirmed he was gay by not actually saying he was gay), but the way he found out was on a whim, an accident, something that he shouldn't have noticed but it was right there, so it technically wasn't his fault.

Kirishima was walking along the halls one day, heading towards the bathroom (because he had just drank three bottles of water and had another in his bookbag), when he heard giggles from around the corner. Around that very same corner held two things: the entrance to the boys bathroom, and two more guys standing very close to each other, smiling and giggling at whatever joke was told that day.

"I have to get back to class soon, babe," Person A said, slowly pulling away. 

Person B pouted, pulling Person A closer to them. "But I can't go the rest of the day without seeing you, honey."

Person A smiles and gives a light kiss onto Person B's lips. "You'll be alright, love." They murmur, placing another soft kiss onto waiting lips, and another, and another, and another-

Kirishima turns back around the corner, placing a hand over his heart. They probably don't know that he knows now, and they probably didn't want their relationship to be out to the public, as their school having a special hate towards the LGBT+ community, so they snuck in between class periods and lunchtimes to have this special moment to themselves, to be themselves for a while. Kirishima decided that day he'll let them have that bathroom to them. He'll just go to the one on the other side of the building.

When he walks to the other side of the building, he sees Izuku there, for the second time that day; the first time outside, helping Izuku get his things back from the bullies. He waves a hand to get Izuku's attention. "Hey, Izuku!"

Izuku whips his head towards the source of the noise, finding it to be Kirishima. He smiles softly, and Kirishima's heart should _not_ be doing somersaults in his chest. "H-hi Kirishima. W-what are you doing here?"

"I kinda had to use the bathroom. The other one was...occupied to say the least," Kirishima explains, rubbing a hand along the nape of his neck. Izuku hums and nods his head. "What are you doing here?"

"M-my teacher needed w-water for an e-experiment we're doing. She s-sent me out to get it," Izuku states, holding up the pitcher in his hand that Kirishima didn't see there before. 

"Oh, cool!" Kirishima says, opening the door for Izuku, getting a small 'thank you' in return. Kirishima walks in behind Izuku. "Hey, did you think about the offer that I gave to you? Outside?"

Izuku looks up from his task of filling the pitcher, turning off the water before the pitcher overflows. "Y-yes I did. W-why me though?"

Kirishima shrugs his shoulders. "Like I said before, I've heard people say things about you dancing and being in competitions. Knowing myself and doing a little bit of research, some of the people in this school has  _actually_ seen you dance in competition, and has video to prove it, which was not for any blackmail material!" Kirishima rushes, calming Izuku down before he could start panicking. "Besides, I'm a dancer myself. So I figured why not offer you something that could let you explore and expand your horizons?"

Izuku's mouth twists in thought as he mulls Kirishima's words over. "I g-guess that makes s-sense," He smiles softly again, and Kirishima's heart does somersaults in his chest  _yet again._

That very same night, he has a nice little conversation with his moms.

"How do you know you are having a gay awakening?" Kirishima asks casually, cutting the carrots up to put into their supper that evening. 

Ukiyo looks over from her place on the couch, the television playing an old episode from one of her favorite shows. She raises an eyebrow. "For me, it was when I found myself getting less interested in men and more into women. By the time I met Yoroshiku, she basically confirmed it."

Yoroshiku, standing on Kirishima's right side, placed a hand on his shoulder. "It was when your mother and I met years before we met you. I was already gay at the time anyway, but she somehow peaked it."

"So, what if I had a friend, and he was just really nice and shy, but my heart keeps doing somersaults in my chest, and makes me want to write lovesick poems about his freckles, does that count as a gay awakening?" Kirishima asks.

Ukiyo and Yoroshiku glance at each other, having a telepathic conversation. "Eijirou, honey," Ukiyo starts calmly. "I think you just had more than a gay awakening."

"You're basically gay and you don't know it," Yoroshiku finishes. 

Kirishima didn't go to sleep that night. Freckles and the want to kiss them kept plauging his mind.

* * *

 

"Alright students, settle down," Aizawa drones, the students putting up the barres after completing another grueling workout on them for a Monday morning. Seriously, did he expect Kirishima to be able to do three pirouettes consistently? "We need to have a discussion about the last competition, and the next one coming up this Saturday," As the students gathered on the cold floor, Aizawa pulls out papers from behind him. From his pocket? From the bag when they were turned around? Anyways. "I'll discuss last week's performance.

"You all did exceptionally well, given the time crunch and unwanted guests that interrupted our run-through times," Aizawa explains. "Midoriya, as you all know, landed first in the competition, and our group dance landed us in first also. Give yourselves a round of applause," Whoops and claps sound through the air, not for long as Aizawa settles them down again. "However, don't assume that you will win first all the time. You can if you put in the work, but other teams will be put against you, challenging you to outdo them, and to take your number one spot. Right now, as of rankings, we are listed as number three out of ten in the state as a team, Midoriya is ranked tenth out of twenty in the state, and the company in its entirety is ranked fourth out of ten. Now, for the competition this Saturday, this will hold two duets, two solos, and one group performance. This will be all planned out with-"

"With the help of his lovely colleagues!" A voice yells from the back of the room. The students turn their heads towards Ms. Midnight and Toshinori, two dance extraordinarres in U.A. history. Midnight licks her lips, smiling seductively. "We'll be helping with duets and solos for the most part, Aizawa will just be there for constructive criticism."

"Ms. Midnight and Toshinori will be assisting in these routines because, for some of you, this will be out of your element. Those that normally prefer break dance, will be learning a contemporary duet. Those who are more into contemporary, you will learn a breakdance piece. Understood?" Nods flutter around the room. "Now then, for the duets, learning a contemporary duet, we will have Bakugou and Todoroki learning  _It's You_ by Ali Gatie. The second duet, we will have Midoriya and Izuku learn  _Faucet Failure_ by Ski Mask the Slump God. As for solos, we will have Kirishima learn a contemporary solo to  _when the party's over_ by Billie Eilish, and Todoroki learn  _bellyache,_ also by Billie Eilish. The group piece will be with a song called  _Angel by the Wings,_ written by Sia. Does everyone understand what is asked of them?" Nods flutter through the room again. "Alright, those who have duets and solos will go with Midnight, others who are only in the group performance will learn a studio dance with Toshinori and I. Now, get to your rightful places."

Kirishima, Katsuki, Izuku and Todoroki all file behind Midnight, whose dance studio was across the hall from Aizawa's, the room clear of any barres, just a mirror, a stereo, and a spacious room to work with. "Alright, kittens, we'll start with Bakugou and Todoroki first while Kirishima and Midoriya stretch their limbs. When it is called for a halftime, we'll break and switch duets. Any questions?" Receiving none, Midnight nods her head and walks towards the stereo, putting a CD in, and pressing pause. "Bakugou and Todoroki to the center of the room please."

As the two walk towards Midnight, Kirishima and Izuku warm up on the sidelines, chatting quietly. "This is my first solo I've had in a while," Kirishima reveals. "I don't want to mess it up."

"Kiri, you'll be fine, you're worrying too much," Izuku reassures, reaching over to touch his toes, his forehead nearly resting on his knee. He comes back up to do the same to the other side. "Don't overthink and just do it, let your heart be your guide."

Kirishima nods absentmindedly as he looks over to Bakugou and Todoroki. Bakugou was more of a break dancer than anything else; at least, that's what he told Kirishima. So, to see one of his partners doing something that is out of his element will be uncomfortable, yes, but an experience that hopefully he can learn from. Same thing goes for Izuku. Izuku has been doing contemporary dance for all his life, so Kirishima is excited that he'll be able to let loose and freely dance. 

"Todoroki, since you are one of the people in this room who has the most experience in contemporary, I'll have you be the leading lady in this piece," Midnight explains, earning a quiet nod from Todoroki, the red and white bun sitting ontop of his head shaking a little bit. "Here is what I'll have you do..."

* * *

 "Fuck, that was difficult," Katsuki groans, plopping down next to Todoroki. Midnight called for a break about halfway in between the duet practices, so Kirishima and Izuku will have their turn at practicing their routine. "I feel uncomfortable doing moves that are so...liquified."

Todoroki raises an amused eyebrow. "You think it's easy to be able to move like liquid with these dance moves?" He questions.

"I mean I knew it was difficult before, but my body is not fucking used to moving this way, to be able to bend with control and still be all...dainty or whatever the crap," Katsuki mumbles, rolling the knots out of his shoulders. 

Todoroki raises from his spot on the floor, leaning down to touch his toes. "If you want, we can work on the routine more after practice," Todoroki offers. "We can have Recovery Girl and Midnight stay a little later to help us work on it. That's only if you want to though."

Katsuki shrugs his shoulders. "I guess. Competition is this Saturday, right? We'll need to be ready, so I might as well take advatnage of the opportunity."

"Excellent."

As Todoroki and Katsuki make their evening plans, Izuku has a hard time being a little less stiff in his movements when going through the routine. Midnight notices this. "Midoriya, sweetie, you have to let loose and really feel the music. It may seem uncomfortable at first, but with enough practice you'll be fine."

"I h-hope so," Izuku says. Kirishima, who was in his sweaty glory with an atrocious maroon and white bandana tied around his head, nods in agreement and encouragement as Midnight plays the song from the top.

After running through their routine a few more times, Midnight decides to call for those that have solos to the center of the room, Kirishima and Todoroki following suit. "For these solos, I want you to really connect with what the song is saying, whether it be you look up the lyrics and decipher them yourself, or having a personal connection to what the song conveys, whatever is up to you. Just make sure that you convey your message to your audience. Kirishima, I know this song is a little out of your limit, what with you never taking a contemporary class in the years that you've been here," That earns a sheepish grin and a rub on the back of the neck from the redhead. "You did do well in terms of the group dance in the last competition, the song being a modern dance. However, you have students like Todoroki and Midoriya that can help you with steps that you don't feel familiar with. With that being said, Kirishima you will practice with me first, then we will switch to Todoroki halfway through the classtime. Understood?" Nods are issued. "Great. Kirishima, you'll need your flats for this, Todoroki you too."

As the song plays and Midnight maps out the routine in front of him, Kirishima can't help but see how some of the moves that are in the routine, he has never learned in his life. Granted he could figure out how to do them, but he'll be rusty, and now he's not so sure if he's the right one to do this song with moves that are far above than what he already knows. He bites his lip in uncertainty as Midnight pauses the song, her turning around with a frown on her face. "Something the matter, Kirishima?"

"Ah, well. It's just, that, I've never learned how to do flips and techniques like those. Breakdancing is something that I've grown accustomed to, and ballet is something that I just took as a basic level course," Kirishima explains, fidgeting with the hem of his muscle T-Shirt. "Ms. Midnight, I think you've got the wrong person for this song. With skills like that, I don't think I'll be able to do it."

It's silent in the room for a few seconds, but to Kirishima, it feels like hours. Midnight furrows her eyebrows even further as she turns her head towards Todoroki, Izuku, and Katsuki, who were watching the exchange in rapt silence as well. Midnight points to Izuku and Todoroki. "You two, come here," She points to Kirishima. "You go over there, next to Bakugou."

As the students switch places in the room, Midnight takes out Kirishima's CD, and digs in her bag to pull one out of her own. "Midoriya, Todoroki. Do you remember the song that you both did together two years ago? The one where it practically took Midoriya days to be able to do an aerial flip?"

Todoroki cocks his head to the side in deep thought. "Was it  _Beautiful_ by Christina Aguilera?"

Izuku snaps his figures. "Now that you mention it, it probably w-was that song." He then raises an eyebrow. "Remember you couldn't do a vertical leg raise while on rise? It was dreadful."

"What was dreadful was watching you falling on your face multiple times and breaking your ankle," Todoroki stops mid-sentence. "Well, it was more funny than dreadful, but you catch my drift."

Midnight clasps her hands together, beaming brightly. "Perfect! If you remember the routine, that would be great. I'll have you two do the routine. If you forget a part, make it up as you go until you remember again. Ready? Begin."

As the music starts to play, with Christina's sultry voice in the background, Todoroki does the vertical leg raise Izuku was talking about, doing a half split in the air. He then brings his leg back down, dropping into a lunge, arching his back, his arms in a beautiful curve, fingers and hands fluttering graciously. 

_Every day, is so wonderful_

_And suddenly, it's hard to breathe_

_Now and then, I get insecure_

_From all the pain. I'm so ashamed_

On the next part, Izuku comes in from the side, doing a light jog and an aerial flip and rolls right into Todoroki's side, helping him up from the ground. As they continue to dance the old routine, Kirishima begins to understand what Midnight was saying. Izuku practically fights to get things right in a rountine with rest, and is often happy when the work pays off from nights of being in the studio and repetitively doing the same thing over and over again.

Todoroki has his moments of being flawless, but Kirishima can tell that the vertical half-split he did was something that he worked on throughout numerous days. Long time ago, Todoroki couldn't get his leg to raise past his hip bone, his legs--though nicely defined, were not in shape and tune for something as controlling as this. So when Midnight taught him how to do the vertical half-split, he almost cried because he pulled a hamstring, probably from not stretching that muscle group before, it was all new to him.

Kirishima understands now, that he could work on this all night and all day on the moves that he needed to know, with the help of the people around him.

He gets it. He understands.

"I did not expect myself to remember much of that dance as I did," Todoroki says, chest heaving lightly as he stands next to Izuku, who was also heaving lightly. "That dance took a lot of energy out of us."

"Though the moves were simple," Izuku heaves. "The song was slow in its entirety, so we had to be precise of our movements, and to be in control of how we do them."

Midnight nods her head at the two, turning to Kirishima, already knowing that the wheels were turning in his head.

"Ready to do this?"

* * *

 

"No, Kiri. Your foot is supposed to land this way, not that way."

Izuku shows him to do a proper fouette turn into a roll, coming up into a lunge, right leg up with the left down, knee touching the floor. As simple as that was, Kirishima couldn't even get past the initial turn itself, so really the steps appeared more difficult than necessary. 

They were staying after practice to use the dancefloor to help Kirishima with his routine and to practice their own. Todoroki and Katsuki were using Aizawa's room to have space of their own. Kirishima runs his hands through sweat-matted hair, the once gravity-defying hairstyle now falling in drapes over his shoulders. He makes a mental reminder to wash his hair when he gets home. He shakes his head, sighing as he rubs a hand over his eye. "'Zuku, I just don't understand how to get from there to here. Like, how did your feet get there?"

Izuku giggles, wiping a hand over his forehead. "After you do the turn, your right foot is in front, right? So that would lead that same foot being forward into the lunge, but go all the way down so your left knee is touching the floor. Kind of like a half lunge. But I think the problem here is that you're landing with your  _left_ in front instead of your _right._ Let's run through it again, and I'll do the moves with you, so you can see how it is supposed to go."

Kirishima nods his head as Izuku presses play on the boombox that Ms. Midnight let them borrow for their extended rehearseal. As the music plays, Izuku and Kirishima go over the moves that they reviewed, the music in the background humming with Billie's syrupy voice, almost soothlike despite the aching lyrics.

_Don't you know I'm no good for you?_

_I've learned to lose you can't afford to_

"See? You've got it that time. Just keep practicing landing with your right foot in front and it'll feel like second nature to you in no time!" Izuku muses happily as he watches Kirishima from the reflective glass in front of them. "Now again. From the top."

They run through that part exactly five more times before Kirishima gets dizzy from spinning so much. As they call for a break, Kirishima walks over to his bag, pulling out a water that has grown lukewarm from the hot air in the room. He swipes a couple of gulps before capping it again, placing it in its rightful spot in his bag. "Should we practice our duet now?"

"Are you sure? I don't want you to overexert yourself, babe," Izuku blushes profusely, namely because he only calls Kiri 'babe' a handful of times, and everytime he does he feels as if he said a bad word. "We can always practice tomorrow." 

Kirishima ponders for a few moments, before rolling out his arms. "Yeah, we can practice tomorrow. I feel kind of spent tonight, anyways. I wonder how Todoroki and Katsuki are doing in the other room?"

"Should we check on them?" Izuku suggests, rolling his eyes when he earns an eager grin from Kirishima, grabbing their things as they head out of the studio. They walk out of Midnight's studio and down to Aizawa's room. Through the door window, they see Katsuki and Todoroki practicing their duet piece, stopping every once in a while to go over a part one or both is confused on. Izuku slowly opens the door, catching the attention of the two males in the room. He smiles sheepishly. "Sorry if we were interrupting, but we just wanted to come in and watch you all for a while, if that's alright." 

"That's fine. We were just wrapping any loose parts of our duet that we have been taught so far, having I already practiced my solo earlier," Todoroki explains, Katsuki nodding in confirment. The other two men come in the room, shutting the door behind them, and finding a spot on the floor to sit. "Did you want to see what we've got so far?"

Todoroki receives nods, he himself nodding towards Katsuki, who in turn goes to press play on his phone, which was connected to a speaker (Aizawa needed his boombox for his husband, Present Mic has mini concerts sometimes), and plays their duet song.  _It's You_ by Ali Gaite. Todoroki takes place center-stage while Katsuki stands to the side.

_It's you_

_It's always you_

_If I'm ever gonna fall in love_

_I know it's gon' be you_

It starts out with Todoroki opening with his arms in fifth position, leaning graciously to the right, then to the left, before doing two pirouette turns, turning into a grand leap to the left, making room for Katsuki to come in on his turn. As the two dance together, there is a chemistry there that you wouldn't notice if you didn't take time to look at it. There was longing looks, lingering touches, and soft caresses. There is one part where Katsuki grips Todoroki by the waist, lifting him in the air, holding their bodies close as he gently places Todoroki back on the ground. It was towards the half of the song when they abruptly pull away. "That's all we have," Katsuki clears his throat.

Izuku and Kirishima are left speechless at the intimate dance in front of them. Izuku notices the small blushes on both of their cheeks, but he doesn't point it out. "That was so amazing!" Kirishima rushes, grinning happily. Todoroki and Katsuki smile softly at the praise. They turn to Izuku, waiting for what he thinks.

Izuku blinks a few times, before grinning. "It was really romantic. It almost seems like this song was meant for you."

Again, Katsuki and Todoroki blush. Again, Izuku doesn't point it out.

"We were just wrapping up, and we were going to get something to eat," Todoroki reveals as they all grab their rightful belongings, heading out of the room. They all wave goodnight towards Recovery Girl. "Would you like to come with us?"

Izuku nods his head at the same time Kirishima shakes his. "I have a better idea. How about I just cook something for all of us? Then, we could unwind and chat with each other."

Katsuki shrugs his shoulders, not really all that put out by the idea. "Sounds good, but I don't trust your cooking. I'm helping you."

"Sounds like a plan! Everyone else on board?" When he received no qualms, he smiles brightly. "Great, let's head to my house."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Be on the lookout for the second part of this chapter.


	7. Chapter Six: Awakenings and Spicy Secrets (Part Two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's just say... Todoroki has feminine tenacities.
> 
> Also, Todoroki's big secret will be spilled in this chapter
> 
> I mean, why would he tell you, when he could take you and show for yourself?
> 
> This part is a little on the shorter side. But after this, it's back to the long chapters :)

**_Previously on Awakenings and Spicy Secrets_ **

_"Sounds like a plan! Everyone else on board?" When he received no qualms, Kirishima smiles brightly. "Great, let's head to my house."_

* * *

 

"YOU'RE A WHAT?"

"...I mean, then again, I saw this coming."

**_Awakenings and Spicy Secrets: Part Two_ **

* * *

 

_EARLIER AT THE STUDIO_

 

"The issue right now would be that you haven't done this type of genre of dance before. That makes sense, since your movements are so stiff," Todoroki thinks out loud as he and Katsuki. The two were currently going through their duet piece, rehearsing side by side, in front of the mirror. Todoroki mentally curses to himself for not getting a haircut sooner, giving that the hair strands keep falling in front of his face. Then again, he really didn't want to cut it, so he brought this upon himself. Thus, resorting to a headband to keep the hair off his face. Katsuki was sweating profusely, wiping the area above his lip with the cloth of his tank. They've been rehearsing their song nonstop ever since practice let out, having asked Aizawa to let them borrow the studio. The man granted them permission, but gave the key to Recovery Girl to lock up once they leave. "I feel as though you just need to find that aura of slowness, smooth eloquence, and to just move like liquid. Not everything has to be urgent and popping."

"That's easy for you to say that, Candy Cane," Todoroki raises an eyebrow at the nickname. "You've been moving like liquid since you've been here. Of course it's easier for you to be slow, in the moment, or whatever the fuck you said."

Todoroki tilts his head. "What if I can teach you how? We can freestyle to a partner song, and I'll teach you how to become like velvet."

Katsuki glances at him, shrugging a shoulder. "I mean, it's worth a shot. I don't know if it will work though."

"Don't lose faith, we didn't even start yet."

Todoroki walks over to Katsuki's phone, disconnecting it from the speaker, and connecting his own instead. He goes to his music gallery and presses play on a song that is familiar to Katsuki.  _Coke and Henny Pt. 2_ by Pink Sweat$. "I didn't know you knew this song."

"It's one of my favorites. Now, just feel the music as it plays. We'll freestyle in pairs. Remember to move to the beat of the song, have control, and just  _feel._ "

Katsuki sighs as the music begins to play, Pink Sweat$' voice fills the room. He starts to spread his arms, filling the area around him as Todoroki starts to do the same, going on rise and doing a slow turn in place. They connect gazes in the mirror, nodding at the same time.

Todoroki twirls into Katsuki, rough hands meeting a slim waist. Todoroki does a heel raise, then is spun by Katsuki, the hands never leaving his midsection.

_Your love_

_It used to, used to, used to fill me up_

_But now I'm fillin this cup_

They get into a ballroom dance, one hand on a broad shoulder, and the other meeting a contrasting hand, clasping softly. They're close, almost too close. Their noses grazing the others as Todoroki wraps a leg around Katsuki's hip. "Do what's natural," Todoroki advises. "Let the music be your guide."

So they spin, the spin turning into a waltz, the waltz turning into steps of their own. "This song is kind of sad," Katsuki murmurs. "It's my favorite but I don't know why."

"It's my favorite," Todoroki reasons. Blue and gray eyes stare in to the harsh red, finding comfort in the color. "Because I realte with every word he is saying." Todoroki then pauses, seeming deep in thought, before adding. "Remember that part in our routine where you're supposed to lift me?"

"Yeah?"

"Lift me, and hold me up. You did it once before, but you couldn't do it for long like Aizawa wanted you to. If you keep practicing it, then it'll be easier on your part. So do it, lift me." Todoroki explains, whispering the words into Katsuki's ear, hearing the slight gasp from the spiky blonde. He doesn't know why he does, or why they're this close to each other. They don't know anything about one another, so how is it so comfortable to be able to do this with a dance partner, after practice, to a song that portrays heartbreak. Todoroki needs to let go, to clear his head and to just keep things professional with Katsuki.

But, what would be different if he did this would Izuku? Or Kirishima? They're all dance partners of his, and he readily accepted to be boyfriends with Izuku, and to try dating the others. So what was so different about Katsuki that made him afraid of being fully committed to the relationship?

Katsuki lets go of Todoroki's hand, and places it on Todoroki's right side, making Todoroki wrap his arms around his neck. Todoroki's eyes widen.

He's being lifted off the ground. Katsuki's arms were wrapped around Todoroki's legs, lifting him higher than what he anticipated. When did he bend down in the first place?

Todoroki gasps, his hands are now on Katsuki's shoulders, causing him to look down at those same red eyes, identical to Kirishima's, but different in every which way. There was a hidden emotion in them, something he can not name.

_What was it?_

"I'm going to let you down now, okay?" Katsuki asks. 

Todoroki nods in confirment. "Gently, okay?"

Katsuki's arms start to slide up Todoroki's body, easing him down slowly to the ground. Once they're face to face, their noses are aligned, their lips accidentally graze each others. Breaths are caught in their throats, both afraid to say the wrong thing.

"Do you know what Midoriya and Kirishima are doing?" Todoroki blurts out.

Katsuki raises an eyebrow. "I think they were practicing, the last time I checked-"

"No, about their whole...dating us, thing. The four of us...being together," Todoroki can feel his cheeks burning as he stares at Katsuki. "I mean, it's not such a bad idea, but I won't do anything unless you feel uncomfortable."

Katsuki furrows his eyebrows. "What if I wanted us to be a thing?" He whispers, bringing his face closer to Todoroki's. "What if I want you?"

"We don't anything about each other," Todoroki points out. "How could you want me already?"

"I've seen the way you move in practice. So poise, and collected, no emotion on your face. You were a puzzle I wanted to solve," Katsuki smiles softly, the corners of his lips touching Todoroki's. "I wanted to figure you out, and once I found one piece of the puzzle, I wanted more of you. I wanted to know more about you in every sense of the word. Let me have this right here, if I don't get to have it another day."

Not having any type of impulse control, Todoroki shifts forward, placing a shy kiss on Katsuki's plump lips, wanting a taste for himself. Katsuki gasps quietly, returning the kiss just as shyly, but the fire doesn't lose its embers. "I want to try dating you, and Izuku, and Kirishima. I want to tell them, but I'm afraid how they'll respond," Todoroki reveals, placing another kiss on Katsuki's lips.

"They're the ones who came up with this idea. It would be ridiculous of them to not want to try the one thing that they suggested to us. They discussed this with each other, and both of us, I'm assuming. I mean, it wouldn't hurt to give this a shot. I'm willing to do it, with willing participants only," Katsuki bites on Todoroki's lower lip, soothing the pain there with a warm tongue, pulling back to create more space between them. 

_Your love_

_It used to, used to, used to fill me up_

_But now I'm fillin this cup_

"C'mon, Todoroki. Let's try our duet one more time," Katsuki pulls him with a lingering hand towards the speaker. 

"Shouto."

Katsuki turns to look at him, confusion on his face. "Huh?"

"That's my first name. Shouto," Todoroki blushes. "If we're going to be in a relationship, I want you guys to either call me Shouto, or Todoroki. Unless you have other names too, then that's also fine-"

Katsuki gives him a small smirk. "You're cute when you ramble," He muses. Todoroki blushes a pretty pink, and so does Katsuki as he turns back around to connect his phone again to the speaker. He pulls up their duet song, and presses play. "Let's get to it."

* * *

 

_PRESENT DAY_

Todoroki assumed that Kirishima would let them go to their individual homes, then they would regroup at his house again, but Kirishima insisted that they can borrow his clothes. Todoroki doesn't argue with him either, because he wouldn't let them say no.

He finds himself sitting on a beige, comfortable couch with a black sweater on that reads in bold white letters,  ** _I Want Food and I Want It Now_** , the clothing giving him intense sweater paws as he holds a coffee mug in his hands. He lifts the cup to his mouth, drinking the hot chocolate that Izuku made for the four of them. Todoroki draws his attention away from the television to look over to Katsuki, who was watching the said television, and also wearing a shirt that belongs to Kirishima. Instead, his was a plain orange sweatshirt with a small white heart on the left, where Katsuki's heart should be. Todoroki decides then and there that he indeed looks amazing in orange.

Katsuki notices Todoroki's attention on him, and gazes at the heterochromatic man. "Somethin' bothering you?" He drawls.

Todoroki shakes his head quickly, turning his attention back to the television. The ponytail in Todoroki's head was becoming loose, so he takes out the rubber band and shakes out his hair, the locks flowing past his shoulders and down to his back. Anyone could mistake him for a girl, with both his body and hair. However, his voice says other wise.

He starts to divide his hair down the middle, when Katsuki puts a hand on top of his. Todoroki sends him a raised eyebrow. "What?" He asks.

"Let me do your hair," Katsuki grunts, pulling Todoroki onto the floor in front of him, regardless of whether Todoroki wanted him to or not. He just goes willingly.

Katsuki finishes separating the hair down the middle, the white being on one side, the red being on the other. He takes Todoroki's rubber band, tying up the red section first, then he starts to braid the white strands together, all the way down to his back. He takes the red section out of its secured spot, and starts to braid it as well, making two, crisp and clean braids down Todoroki's back, both tied at the end with the singular rubber band Todoroki has. When he's done, Todoroki doesn't bother to move from his spot on the floor, but rather leans his head on Katsuki's knee. He closes his eyes, feeling Katsuki's hand drift through his hair, feeling at peace and drowsy.

"I didn't know you could braid," Kirishima gasps from the kitchen. Todoroki didn't notice that the redhead sat down next to him on the floor, a bowl of popcorn in one hand and his phone in the other. "That's so cool, babe."

"I know it is," Katsuki smirks. "It's my secret talent."

"You got any more secrets?" Kirishima challenges. He's wearing a baby blue sweater with a baby duck at the breast pocket. Todoroki is now awake, because Katsuki is shifting downward to join them on the floor. Izuku joins them as well, wearing a dark green long-sleeved crop top.

"I can rap any song of your choice. Pick one," Katsuki says smugly. 

" _Facts_ by Chantel Jeffries," Izuku calls out. They all look at him, eyebrows raised. "W-what? It's my favorite song."

"Alright. If you insist," Katsuki clears his throat.  _"I'm a million dollar man, money chit chat. Hoochies in the tub, Gucci rug where I live at. Make her tell me who when I'm hittin' that. All bosses at the table where I'm sittin' at._ I mean I could go on forever, but you get the point. Give me another song."

"Any song by Eminem," Todoroki suggests. 

 _"Hi kids, do you like violence? Wanna see me stick nine inch nails through each one of my eyelids? Wanna copy me and do exactly like I did? Try acid and get fucked up worse than my life is? My brains dead weight, I'm trying to get my head straight. But I can't figure out which Spice Girl I want to impregnate. And Dr. Dre said...Uh-uh._ I would have done the ad libs, but that would through me off," Katsuki finishes.

The three men around him abrupt in applause, chuckling when Katsuki bows mockingly.  _Fuck, that's hot,_ all three of them simultaneously think. The rapping...not the bowing.

"Alright, Kirishima. Your turn. What's your secret?" Todoroki asks. 

"Uh, it's not much. But I can Irish dance pretty well. It's a needless skill that I needed to learn for this girl that I went to school with. She got sick and asked me to fill in for her at this festival. It was weird but okay at the same time," Kirishima reveals.

Katsuki presses his lips together to suppress the laughter bubbling up inside of him. Todoroki and Izuku close their eyes in tandem. "You mean to tell me," He tries to clear his throat without the laughter spilling out. "You had to wear a skirt," He starts to giggle, and it's only moments before the laughter spills over. "And had to dance to bag pipe."

"W-well when put like that... yes, yes I did," Kirishima scratches the back of his head, blushing sheepishly as the others around him burst out into giggles, Todoroki snickering quietly into his palm, Izuku is clutching his stomach and rolling on the floor, tears in his eyes as he laughs heartily. Katsuki has his head thrown back, and lets out the loudest laugh in the world. Kirishima has half a mind to worry about others calling the police on them. Nonetheless, Kirishima laughs along with them. "It is funny, now that I think about it." Everyone calms down after a few minutes. Kirishima looks over to Izuku, who is wiping the last of his tears from the corners of his eyes. "Alright, Izuku. Your turn."

"Okay. Um," Izuku thinks for a moment, then his eyes widen as he thinks of something. "U-uh... I learned something from a long time ago, before I met Todoroki and Kacchan," He explains, wringing his hands nervously. "Mina, the girl who's on our dance team. She. Um...taught me how to bellydance. Like you know how people online do it? That's how...Mina taught me..."

It's dead silent when Izuku explains this. Cheeks are fire red across the room, eyes are stone hard and pinned at a shaking Izuku.

"Show us," Katsuki gripes out.

Izuku swivels towards Katsuki. "W-what?"

"Show. Us."

"Yeah," Izuku shifts his gaze to Todoroki. "Show us. Right now."

"W-well. I-I mean. Okay. You all have to sit on the couch though."

A few minutes later, Katsuki, Todoroki and Kirishima are sitting on the couch, with Izuku standing a few feet in front of them, fiddling with something on his phone, then turning the volume up on Kirishima's speaker. "I learned how to bellydance to a Spanish song. Though I don't know the words, I just do it to the beat of the song. If that's fine with you guys," He looks at the three.

"Go ahead," Kirishima.

"Not complaining," Todoroki.

"Show us," Katsuki repeats.

Izuku giggles internally at the eagerness that the three have for him to bellydance. He hasn't done this in a while, so he prays that he still remembers how to do it. The song  _MIA_ by Bad Bunny ft. Drake starts to play in the room. Izuku closes his eyes, slowly shifting his hips. He bites his lips in concentration--but, to the lack of Izuku's attention, it arouses the boys even more. His hips shift to every beat in the song, the Spanish lyrics filling the room up with sexual innuendos, meant for a club track than anything else.

At one particular part of the song, he slows his hips, moving them in circles, bending over to put his hands on his knees as if he's bending down to talk to a kid. He turns around and starts moving not just his hips, but his bottom as well.

Then, he starts to twerk.

Like, insanely good. Good thing there were three pillows on the couch. The boys covered up their boners quickly. Good god, what an ass Izuku has.

Izuku stands up to go turn the song off, then looking to the guys on the couch. "S-so...what do you think?"

Katsuki looks over to Kirishima, who gaze is glazed over. "Would it be too forward if I kissed him?"

Kirishima looks over to him, Todoroki as well. "Nah. Go ahead, babe. I'll take care of Todoroki right here."

Katsuki shoots up from the couch, wrapping Izuku in his arms, and pulling him into a whirlwind kiss, causing Izuku to squeak and place his hands on Katsuki's biceps, kissing him back. Kirishima tugs Todoroki closer, a hand on his chin, kissing him softly, steadily, and Todoroki tries to reciprocate that.

After all, he did come from a place that had the rule, 'You Can Stare, But You Can't Touch'. 

After a few minutes of kissing, they all part, and look at one another. Well, this is one way to confirm wanting to be together.

"So, 'Roki. What's your secret?"

Oh yeah. Well, either go big or go home.

Todoroki definetly didn't want to go home.

"Why tell you, when I could rather show you?" Noticing the confused glances between the three males, Todoroki smiles softly. "Put your shoes and jackets on. I'll take you to my secret."

* * *

 

"YOU'RE A WHAT?"

Todoroki has definitely won for the best secret of the night, because they are currently standing in front of a closed, out-of-business, strip club. "Was, Katsuki. I  _was_ a stripper. I have a key to this building, and I know the guy who runs it. Follow me."

Following Todoroki inside the building, Todoroki flips a switch on to reveal purple, blue, and red lights dancing across the room. Various poles line up along the long room, a bar sitting in a corner, chairs and tables out and furnished as well. Todoroki hops up onto the stage, gripping a pole in his hand, motioning for the others to sit down in the chairs. "I hope this isn't too forward. I came from this place. Well, rather,  _saved_ than came. This was my job throughout high school, until the cookie crumbled and somehow I ended up at U.A." Todoroki explains to the shocked men. Kirishima looks more shocked than all of them combined, so he takes that as a negative sign. "Maybe I should have waited sooner to drop a bomb like this on you. I'm sorry-"

"No, no, don't be sorry. It's just, I came from a home filled with strippers and pimps and prostitutes. Not that I'm calling you any of those things, not at all! But what I'm trying to say is-" Todoroki silences Kirishima with a chaste kiss. Kirishima licks his own lips, gasping softly.

"I know what you meant, Kiri. I'm okay. It's okay," Todoroki pulls him in for another kiss and a hug. After he lets go and pushes Kirishima back to his seat, Todorki swivels back to the pole. "So yeah. This is my secret. I was a stripper before I left the club, and this was all I knew how to do. Dance on grimy, sweaty men for money. I felt horrible and disgusted, but I learned to deal with it. Guys, don't make that face," He pouts at the snarls the guys give him. He knows it's not directed towards him, but it was protective, to see three guys want to keep him away from the strip club. "So, I'll show you what I knew how to do. I'm a little rusty, so don't laugh."

He chucks his jacket off, and walks around the pole, before swinging upside down, doing a split in the air, spinning on the pole. He pulls himself upright again, wrapping a leg around the pole, twirling around like that for a little while, then dropping down to the floor in a middle split. He brings his legs to a close, coming up to his knees, rolling his body, acting seductively.

Yeah, they all have raging boners by the time they all go back home.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!!


	8. Chapter Seven: Duet, Do It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm a terrible author because it feels like decades since I've updated this story. I've been busy with school and I've been thinking about new AUs to make and to see what would work out...But anyways, I'm back for now and I'm going to do a mini time skip to the dance competition!

*Mini Time Skip to the Dance Competition*

It was once again a bright, crisp fall morning when Todoroki was waiting outside of the dance studio, playing with apps on his phone as he awaited for the coach bus to arrive. He currently had his hair in a low ponytail, wearing a denim jacket and the shirt Kirishima let him borrow from when he, Izuku, and Katsuki went over to his house after dance practice.

"Hey, Todoroki!" Izuku calls out, walking alongside Katsuki. Izuku was wearing a beige jacket with a black scarf, while Katsuki was wearing his black biker jacket, and his infamous black combat boots. Todoroki notices that their hands are loosely linked together by their pinkies. He smiles softly at the sight. "Are you the only o-one here?"

"As of right now, yes. Aizawa was here earlier, but he needed to run back home for something he remembered he'd need for today," Todoroki explains. It wasn't a big deal, because Aizawa usually tends to leave things behind that he would need for competition days, and his home is only ten minutes away by walking, five if he ran. "He'll be back in a few minutes, and the bus didn't arrive yet. So I've just been waiting outside until it comes."

"Aren't you cold, Candy Cane?" Katsuki mutters, coming closer to nuzzle his blushing cheeks into Todoroki's neck. 

Todoroki hums as he brings a hand to run through the wild locks of Katsuki's ashy blonde hair. "No, I'm fine. My blood runs hot, anyways."

"I thought you were anemic?" Izuku questions. He definitely remembers Todoroki always having on a thin, long sleeved shirt whenever he came to practice. It would be eighty degrees and sunny outside, but Todoroki would still keep on a jacket in pratice. 

"I am, but I've been told I'm really warm. People would shake my hands and they're pretty much warm all the time," Todoroki shrugs halfheartedly, turning a little bit to nose into Katsuki's hair, inhaling slowly to get the smoky scent that lingers in his being.

"Makes sense. You're like a heater right now," Katsuki mumbles, pressing closer into Todoroki, wrapping his arms around his waist. "It's annoyingly cute."

"Thanks, I appreciate the compliment," Todoroki deapans. As more people start to gather outside of the studio, the bus pulls up alongside the curb. Aizawa makes it back in time just to check the bus driver and give them the location. Todoroki looks around the faces, frowing slightly when he can't spot who he is looking for. "Where's Kirishima?"

"I'm here!"

Kirishima calls out from Izuku's left side, Kaminari jogging to keep up with him. The moment they both come closer to the three, Kirishima is almost out of breath. "Good lord, K-kiri. Did you run here?"

"Yes," Kirishima pants. "I thought you guys were already gone!"

"Obviously not, so you were worried for nothing," Katsuki says, pulling his head from its resting position in Todoroki's neck as he makes his way to Kirishima, giving him a kiss. Then, he plants one of Izuku's lips, causing him to yelp in surprise. Katsuki places his last kiss on Todoroki's lips, who returns the kiss softly. "Now that all three of you are kissed, let's get this show on the road."

As they climb aboard the bus, Kirishima and Izuku sit next to each other, while Katsuki and Todoroki sit across from them. This way, they can all see each other without having to look over seats just to talk to them. Todoroki slips on his headphones, offering one bud to Katsuki. "Do you want to listen to the song we're dancing to today? Just to go over the basic steps so that we can do the full out routine once we get there?"

"Sounds good to me," Katsuki mutters, grabbing the offered bud and placing it in his ear. Todoroki starts to play the song softly, hearing the small chatter of Izuku and Kirishima in the background. As the song starts to play, Katsuki grabs one of Todoroki's hands, twiddling with his fingers as he taps to the rhythm of the song. Todoroki smiles softly, turning his hand over to fully clasp Katsuki's, earning a small squeeze in return.

* * *

 

Once they reach the site of the dance competition, they all trample off of the bus, shaking the sleepiness from the bus ride away as they walk into the building to check in. As soon as they are settled into their changing room, Aizawa gives the run down of the day. "We are going to start with the group dance first, then Kirishima and Izuku are up, then Todoroki and Katsuki, followed by the solo performances from Kirishima, then Todoroki. In that order," Aizawa gives as he looks at the students in front of him. He then glances at his watch, checking the time. "We have exactly an hour before our group performance. Change into your attire and get in formation."

As the team disperses to change, Izuku makes a beeline for the curtain in the corner. "Oi, Izuku," Katsuki calls out.

Izuku squeaks then turns around slowly. "Y-yes?" He stutters.

"We'll make a circle around you, so that nobody sees you. I know how it is, my cousin used to do it too," Katsuki reasons. With his cousin, Katsuki knows how much she hated dressing in front of others, so Katsuki would kindly turn around and put his body in front of hers, so that nobody (including him) could see her without any clothes on. It worked on her, and it might work on Izuku too.

Izuku gulps. "O-okay. I guess," Izuku comes back to the group. Katsuki, Kirishima and Todoroki make a representation of a triangle around Izuku, their backs turned to him. Izuku gulps nervously as he starts to change into his costume. Once he's done, he taps one of them on the shoulder. "Okay. I'm d-done."

"Was that okay? You weren't uncomfortable, were you?" Todoroki asks as they all turn to face him.

"No, n-not at all. It was fine, actually," Izuku looks up at Katsuki. "Thank you f-for suggesting the idea."

Katsuki reaches up to Izuku's head, ruffling the green locks there. "No problem, nerd. Now let's get this dance routine over with and out of the way."

* * *

 

After their group performance, Kirishima and Izuku go back into the dressing room to change into their outfits for their partner dance. The clothes were baggy. Well, more so the pants than anything else, and the shirts were just plain white tees, the shoes they picked didn't really matter, they just had to be closed-toed.

"Alright, Izuku. Ready to do this?"

"I guess s-so. I've never done a routine l-like this," Izuku bites his lip in nervousness as he and Kirishima make their way towards the backstage of the auditorium. "I just don't want to mess a-anything up-"

"Izuku Midoriya. C'mere," Kirishima opens his arms, wrapping them around Izuku tightly, encasing him in a warm hug. Izuku sighs, his breath fluttering against the fabric of Kirishima's shirt. "Don't always doubt yourself. You know the steps and you know that you've worked hard in practice. You've got this, baby."

Izuku smiles bashfully, blushing lightly at the pet name. "Thank you, Kiri," Izuku pulls back, giving Kirishima a kiss on the cheek. "Let's do it."

The audience applauds warmly for the duet that went before them, and he starts to announce the next pair on the stage. "Please give a warm round of applause to U.A.'s own, Kirishima and Izuku!"

The song  _Faucet Failure_ by Ski Mask the Slump God starts to play, and Kirishima and Izuku take the stage by storm. They hit all the beats on time, their moves in sync with one another, and Kirishima feels proud of Izuku, for allowing himself to step out of his comfort zone and welcome this new genre of dance with open arms. Sure, it's nothing to be overwhelmed about, but if you'd known Izuku for as long as Kirishima has known him, he knows that Izuku becomes a creature of habit. He becomes fixated on doing certain things, certain ways.

Yet, he broke that habit.

After they are done with their rountine, the audience jumps up and the applause is loud, and it sounds like music to Kirishima's ears.

"You all did well," Todoroki compliments, giving a warm smile as the two give him an air hug, as to not ruin his outfit, which was more of leggins and a flowy top, while Katsuki's was similar, but he was wearing tight black jeans and a white shirt. They were both wearing foot undies. Todoroki looks to Katsuki, who was picking at his fingernails. "You're not nervous, are you?"

"Ha?" Katsuki drawls. "I don't give nervous, Candy Cane. Why are you asking me that? I have never gotten nervous in my life. Nothing gets me nervous. Nothing-"

"Yep, you're definitely nervous," Kirishima states, Izuku giggling as Todoroki grabs one of Katsuki hands. 

"We're going to be fine," Todoroki leans closer to brush his nose against Katsuki's. "We're going to do great out there."

"I know we're going to be fine," Katsuki murmurs, his eyelashes brushing against Todoroki's due to their close proximity.

"Okay. I have one favor to ask of you," Todoroki requests.

"Oh yeah? What is it?"

* * *

 

"Please join me in welcoming U.A.'s own Todoroki and Katsuki!"

The crowd cheers as the pair makes it to the stage. As the music starts to play, Todoroki is the first one to move, and his fluid movements catch the audience's attention, including Kirishima's and Izuku's, who were currently in the wings. As Todoroki continues to dance, Katsuki joins him in a few beats later. Todoroki's request lingers in his mind.

_"Remember when we practiced the lifting part?" Todoroki recalls._

_Katsuki raises an eyebrow. "Yeah? What about it?"_

_"How do you feel about lifting me up all the way?"_

_Katsuki sputters as Izuku chokes on his drink, Kirishima blinking in rapid succession. "You want me to do what? Candy Cane, we haven't practice that in the studio, it's too risky."_

_"I know it is," Todoroki replies, a small smile gracing his lips. "I have a plan on making it easier. Just follow my lead up until the end."_

The end of the song is nearing and Katsuki's heart is beating rapidly. Who knows what Todoroki has planned up his sleeve? Todoroki catches Katsuki eye and mouths indiscreetly so that the judges don't notice.  _Put your arms out and have your palms facing upward._

Catching what he mouthed, Katsuki does the action, blinking surprise as Todoroki does a backward handspring, his back and thighs landing perfectly in Katsuki's palms. Katsuki guesses what he needs to do next, and raises Todoroki in the air, walking around in a circle as the end of the song nears, the crowd roaring in applause at the ending. Katsuki sets Todoroki down gently, and walks them both off of the stage.

"WHAT IN THE EVERLASTING FUCK WAS THAT?" Katsuki roars.

Todoroki shrugs like it was no big deal. "I wanted to push you out of your limit. You looked too comfortable, even though this genre of dance seemed out of your element. But I wanted to throw you off a little bit. No harm, no foul."

Katsuki groans as he walks out of the backstage and back to the changing room, where Kirishima is getting ready for his solo, and where Todoroki needs to get ready for his. Katuski pulls Todoroki close, placing a kiss on his lips. He walks over to Kirishima, who was in the midst of pulling his leggings on, cupping his jaw and guiding him to face him, placing a kiss on his lips as well. "Do well, both of you," Katsuki advises. "Where's Izuku?"

"In the audience," Kirishima states, still caught off guard by the kiss. "He wanted to watch our performances, so he's out there. He saved a seat for you."

Katsuki scoffs. "That nerd," He smiles when his back is turned towards them. "I'll see you knuckle heads out there."

* * *

After they did their performances, their group performance placed second overall, Kirishima and Izuku placed first, Katsuki and Todoroki also placed first. Kirishima placed second and Todoroki placed second. They all go out to eat and have good times over cold soba nooldes, and spicy volcano chicken. Everything is peachy keen.

Or, is it really?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I am so sorry for taking so long to update this story. I hope you all liked this chapter and I'll see you soon!!


	9. Chapter Eight: What I Didn't Want You to Know (Part One)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the poly crew to have a little chat about their past with each other.

It was another rehearseal day at the U.A. Dance of Elite studio. The energy in the room was buzzing as the dancers took their places on the barre, doing yet again a crucial workout routine from Aizawa, the master of all things difficult. Todoroki makes a note subconciously to go to the store later. He ran out of milk and some meat and he plans on making food instead of going out to spend tons of money at a restaurant when he can just remake the dishes at home. After the dance competition was over, Aizawa, with the assistance of Miss Midnight, goes over the teams performance, as well as the duet routines and the solos. "Overall, I'd say we can do better than what we did at the competition. It's time for us to push ourselves past our boundaries," Aizawa says, looking over the sheets with the scores of all the dance companies that were there. "To keep all of you on your toes, we're going to do songs that are completely out of the elements of some of the people in this room. For the next competition coming up this Saturday, we have four solos out of the eight that are going to be competing, and the four will be Todoroki, Kirishima, Midoriya, and Bakugou. As for the group dance, the song that we choose won't be until the end of class. Since there are going to be a large number of solo performances that are happening, Miss Midnight and myself will split it down the middle. Miss Midnight will take Midoriya and Todoroki, while I takes Bakugou and Kirishima. Understood?" After getting a chorus of 'yes Aizawa', he turns his back to them, walking out the door. "Midnight, you take care of barre warmup. I need to make a quick run somewhere."

"Alright," Midnight says as she gains attention from the room. "The barre warmup will be quick and short. For the next few days until the competition, we will be extending practice times due to the need of solos that we need to choreograph. So, without further ado, get into first position for warmup."

* * *

 

"I am beat, and we're not even done with practice yet!" Kirishima whines as they move to put the barre away. 

Todoroki wipes the edge of his nose with his shirt, which is collecting sweat heavily. "I don't think the barre was that hard."

"That's b-because she has us on flat w-while some were on pointe," Izuku points out. This is true, he and Izuku were on flat due to the fact that she used them for a more flexible composition. Others, like Kirishima and Katsuki--who weren't as flexible--used them on rise for the entire duration of the warmup. This caused some to get cramps in their calves and to take a quick rest to drink water. "I promise I was s-starting to get a cramp when she had us in the leg raise for f-five minutes. It was intense."

"But pointe sucks though," Kirishima huffs. He looks down to inspect his feet. "I think my toes are bleeding?"

Katsuki raises an eyebrow. "Was that a question or a statement?"

"Yes."

Before anybody could say anything else, Aizawa is back in the studio by the time they had to break off into their selective rooms to start on the dance solos. Todoroki and Izuku go with Midnight into another room of the studio while Katsuki and Kirishima were with Aizawa. The rest were getting an intensive routine from Coach Yagi. As soon as they are in the room, Miss Midnight places the CD she brought next to the boombox in the corner. She starts to tie her jet black hair into a high ponytail and rolls up the sleeves of her shirt. "Do you know why I chose you two to come with me instead of staying with Aizawa? Hm?" Todoroki and Izuku look at each other, at a loss for an answer. Midnight chuckles. "There is no wrong answer. Just take a wild guess."

"W-well you're more of a dancer that uses what you have in order to drive the audience crazy," Izuku observes. "So I guess the reason why we're with you is because..." His eyes widen and takes a look at Todoroki. He's know what he's thinking.

"You want us to be seductive? Is that what this is?"

Midnight claps her hands excitedly. "Correct! For these next few days, we will be breaking you out of your shell and to become to the most seductive person that you can be. Todoroki, you will be dancing to  _6 Inch_ by Beyonce. Izuku, you will be dancing to  _Maneater_ Nelly Furtado. The reason I'm having you two dance to these songs, is because of the sex appeal that is very apparent in these songs. For instance, Beyonce is a powerhouse when it comes to looking sexy and being the one people dream about. Nelly, well, I don't know much about her but the song suggests that she is one people want, and she will leave you wanting more," Midnight explains. "We will start with Todoroki. Todoroki, quick question."

"Yes, Miss Midnight?" Todoroki questions.

"How good are you on a pole?"

The question alone catches Izuku whipping his head around to look at Todoroki's face, which is carefully blank. His heart starts to beat faster. Izuku knows he isn't just going to outright say he use to be a stripper, that would be ridiculous. 

"I have never used a pole in my life," Todoroki answers.

Midnight nods her head, accepting the answer. "Follow me, kiddos." As they exit the room, they go to a room at the end of the hall, opening the door to reveal a spacious room with a silver pole in the center of the floor. "Todoroki, go stand next to the pole. We have a whole lot of work to do."

Izuku practically his whole fist in his mouth to stop himself from screaming out  _what in the absolute f-_

* * *

 

"How was practice for you all?" Kirishima asks as they leave the studio, possibly to grab a bite to eat at a stand on the way home. Katsuki is next to him, his headphones in his ears as he walks with them.

"It was...e-eventful," Izuku clears his throat, finding the ground gravel one hundred times more interesting.

Kirishima furrows his eyebrows. "Why eventful?"

Izuku starts to sputter, mumbling and tripping over his words as he tries to come up with a good answer, however-

"Midnight asked me if I ever used a pole before in my life," Todoroki says.

It's silent for a few moments. Katsuki had his headphones in but he heard what Todoroki said loud and clear. Kirishima fights his mouth to keep from hitting the floor. Izuku turns beet red and hides his face in his hand, as if he was the one that was asked that question.

"What did you say?" Katsuki mutters slowly.

Todoroki shrugs his shoulders. "I lied. Saying I have never touched a pole in my life. The question didn't make me uncomfortable. I've been in far worse conditions," He notices the frowns starting to worry their faces. He kisses Izuku's button nose, earning a squeak in tandem. "I'm fine." He reaches over to kiss Kirishima on the cheek, who smiles softly as the affection. "I'm fine." He finally reaches Katsuki, kissing him on the corner of his mouth. "Stop frowning. I'm okay. I promise." 

Katsuki huffs, turning around, walking towards his apartment. Kirishima, Izuku, and Todoroki, who is biting his lip in nervousness (though, nobody sees it, and if Izuku or Kirishima says otherwise, they would respectfully deny it as well). Once they reached Katsuki's shared apartment, it's empty. Kaminari must've stepped out to go do something. At least the space was clean. "Come in, I'll get you guys something to wear. Shitty Hair, don't put your feet on the coffee table."

"How'd you know I was going to do it?" Kirishima gapes.

"Cause you just admitted it." Katsuki says. As he heads up the stairs to his room to retrieve clothes for his boyfriends, Todoroki feels a heavy weight settle in the pit of his stomach. He's on edge, afraid that Katsuki is mad at him because he chose to not be offended at the fact that one of his dance instrtuctors asked if he ever worked the pole and-

"What's going on in that brain of yours?" Kirishima wraps an arm around Todoroki's shoulders, nosing into his hair, pulling him close. Todoroki closes his eyes at the heat Kirishima is radiating. "Is it about Katsuki?"

Todoroki nods, turning to bury his eyes into Kirishima's chest. He opens his eyes to see Izuku on the other side, resting his head on Kirishima's shoulder. "I know I don't show a lot of emotion. But that's what happens when you grow up in a place where you don't have the obligation to express your feelings. I know Katsuki is more mad at the fact that I'm being nonchalant about the entire thing, and I don't know what to do to make it better."

"Talk to me about it, Candy Cane."

The three males turn around toward Katsuki's voice, watching him come around the couch, and plopping stacks of clothes in each of their laps. He sits next to Todoroki, turning his head, placing a short and sweet kiss on Todoroki's lips. "I know you had a shitty life. You were right in your assumption, I am more mad at the fact that it happened to you and you just act nonchalant about it. But, I know people deal with things differently. I should've realized that."

"No, no. You were right," Todoroki replies. "I should talk about it. But, I don't know where to start. So much has happened over the course of my past that I'm afraid just thinking about it is going to give me nightmares and I can't afford to have nightmares when I have a dance career and a future to think about."

"Well, if it's anything to help, we can all talk about our pasts. We haven't discussed much about ourselves with each other yet, and I just think it would be a good idea. I-if that's alright with you all," Izuku suggests. Todoroki, Katsuki and Kirishima look at each other. 

"Sounds good to me," Kirishima says.

"I'm okay with that," Todoroki agrees.

"Sure," Katsuki states.

"Well, I hope you all have pillows and tissues. It's going to be a lot of crying," Kirishima says as a heads up.

Izuku nuzzles his face into Kirishima's shoulder. "Who feels comfortable enough to go first?"

The four look at each for a few minutes, until Katsuki sighs. "I'll go first I guess."

**_TO BE CONTINUED IN PART TWO_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked the chapter! See you next time when I'm not swamped with homework!


	10. Chapter Nine: What I Didn't Want You to Know (Part Two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let the truth, set you free. Unless you're changed, of course.   
> PS. MENTIONS OF DOMESTIC ABUSE

_**PREVIOUSLY ON LET ME DOWN SLOWLY** _

_**WHAT I DIDN'T WANT YOU TO KNOW (PART ONE)** _

_Izuku nuzzles his face into Kirishima's shoulder. "Who feels comfortable enough to go first?"_

_The four look at each for a few minutes, until Katsuki sighs. "I'll go first I guess."_

* * *

 

"Oh my god..."

"I'll be okay, I don't need you to worry."

"How could you live with something like that?"

"Baby, I've been afraid of things my entire life. I've gorwn immune to the pain."

* * *

 

**_WHAT I DIDN'T WANT YOU TO KNOW (PART TWO)_ **

"I started dance when I just a kid, so imagine an angry pomeranian of a child doing tap dance," Katsuki starts, already gaining a giggle from Izuku. "I grew up in a poor family of two, and my mother could not afford dance lessons. So I took my ass to dancing on the streets. At the time I didn't care how embarrassing this was for me, I just knew two things: One, I was getting money and two, I was dancing. As long as I was doing those two things, I didn't give a damn about anything else," Katsuki pauses to take a sip of water, looking around the room. "Anybody have any questions so far?"

"How old you were you? When you started dancing, I mean?" Todoroki asks first. 

"I was five at the time. Old enough to know but small enough to still be oblivious to everything and anything that I didn't want to know," Katsuki answers. Todoroki nods his head, reaching over to grab Katsuki's hand, giving it a small but firm squeeze. "I didn't know the specifics of the family struggles that were going on. Hell, I didn't know where my dad was at the time, let alone knowing how my mother felt during that time. Push came to shove and I ended up not only dancing on the streets, but living on them as well. My shithead of a father didn't spend money monthly like he said he would, that's what at least what my mom told me. I don't claim that man to be my father, he left after I was born.

"And even then, I couldn't do anything about it, no matter how hard I tried," Katsuki reaches up to wipe a tear from his eye before anybody could see it, but he knew he wasn't fooling any of them. Izuku was on the verge of tears already, Kirishima looked halfway there, and Todoroki hid his face in the nook of Katsuki's neck. He starts to sniffle, taking deep breaths, trying not to cry. Someone had to keep a level head in here. "During high school, I was taunted by kids who just didn't understand what I was going through. They called my mother a failure, that I'm the reason that my father left me, that he didn't want me. The sad thing was, I believed them," Katsuki's voice starts to waver, blinking rapidly at the ground, trying not to break down in front of his boyfriends. It's been such a long time since he had to talk to someone about his past, and it's something that he doesn't really like to do, but he has to. 

"Oh my god," Izuku cries, shooting up from his seat and making a beeline towards the bathroom. His stomach is in knots as he empties out what he had for lunch that day, crying and snot running down his face. A warm hand places itself on his back. Izuku blinks his eyes open, turning to see Katsuki staring back at him, deep concern and hurt swimming in his eyes. "How?" Izuku whispers. "How could you live like that? Kacchan, I.." He trails off, sobbing and hiccuping as Katsuki pulls him close and into the warm embrace that makes him sob even harder. How can Izuku cry and be comforted over something that didn't happen to him? The roles should be reversed. Izuku should be the one to hug him and console him, not to be the one  _needing_ consoling. 

Katsuki presses a kiss against the green tuffs of Izuku's hair. "I've learned to deal with it, Izu. I have to come to terms with the fact that I wasn't able to live in a home anymore, and it's not anyone's fault. My mother and I tried the best we could," Katsuki murmurs into his ear. Izuku nods his head in understanding, letting Katsuki pull him up, wiping his tears away. "C'mon, let's go back into the living room."

The two walk back into the space to see Todoroki and Kirishima cuddled together, watching Katsuki and Izuku come back into the living room, plopping down next to them on Kirishima's left. Katsuki leans over to press his nose into Kirishima's cheek, reaching across to rub Todoroki's thigh. "Are you both okay? You need a minute?"

Kirishima shakes his head, heaving a heavy sigh. "I'm fine, really."

The three men look at Todoroki, who stares at them with a heavy gaze. "I'm alright. Continue your story."

Izuku raises his eyebrows in worry. "Are you sure?"

Todoroki nods his head. "Yes, I'm fine. Go ahead, Katsuki."

Katsuki gives Todoroki one last look before clearing his throat to continue his story. "As I grew up, I started to create a hard outer shell to protect myself from people reading me from the outside and to just, I don't know, get through the days, counting down to when I graduated from high school. Actually, I graduated early from school, I focused hard enough to earn myself extra credits and to get the hell out of there.

"To make a long story short, I bought a one-way ticket here, and ended up as Dunce Face's roommate and here I am." Katsuki finishes explaining. 

It's silent before Kirishima clears his throat. "Alright, I guess it's time for me to give my story now."

"Only if you feel comfortable, though," Todoroki reminds him, tucking a kiss under Kirishima's jaw.

Kirishima gives Todoroki a peck on the lips, smiling softly. "I promise, Sho. I'm ready. I do, actually, need to stand to tell my story."

"Why?" Izuku asks out of genuine curiosity. 

"Because it gives me something to do basically," Kirishima explains, earning a nod from the three on the couch. "So, the way my past life was set up is similiar to Todoroki, but it's something I've been a victim of and I'm not really sure how you guys will handle it..."

As he trails off, Katsuki raises an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"I um, so my dad he, uh... abused me," Kirishima whispers. "I'm a survivor of domestic abuse."

It's silent in the house as his boyfriends try to pick up their jaws from the floor. Todoroki clenches his jaw, looking away with tears running down his face, not saying a word. Izuku has his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking ever so slightly. But, lo and behold, Katsuki's reaction was the worst. He slowly makes his way off the couch, stalking closer to Kirishima, holding his face in his hands. "Where is he?"

"W-what?" Kirishima whispers, voice shaky as he stares deep into red eyes. 

"Katsuki, think about what you're saying," Todoroki says from behind him, making his way up as well.

"To hell with what I'm saying. What did that bastard do to you?"

"I can't just answer that question, Katsuki. It's deeper than that," Kirishima says, trying to swallow the knot that is forming in his throat. 

"Kacchan? Let's just step away, and let Kiri speak, okay?" Izuku wraps his arms around Katsuki's waist, slowly pulling him back towards the couch. "Calm down," He murmurs into Katsuki's ear. "Let him explain what happened."

Katsuki nods, now realizing how shaken up Kirishima is over this. Feeling guilty, Katsuki apologizes. "I'm sorry, babe."

"No, you're fine. My dad is in jail now. After seeing the evidence of him...hitting and abusing me, they didn't need me to testify. They had enough proof. Plus I was only a kid, so what could they really get out of me, anyway? My father was the pimp of pimps. He had different women on his arm, drugs were in and out of the house, and I was an only child, so I just learned to stay out of his way. However, when he would get drunk, he would get violent. He would only do it when no one was around, though. Then one day, he was drinking and a babysitter was watching me at the time, so he took all of his anger from whatever happened out on me. Next thing I know, I wake up in a hospital bed with wires and bandages around my arms. When I was in the hospital, I remember meeting my nurse, who turned out to be my adoptive mother and her wife. After that, it was tough getting used to sleeping in beds that weren't on floors, or living in such a clean place and someone saying, 'This is our home', and the idea of being inclusive scared me. My dad scared that thought out of me, so how could I expect the same thing?" Kirishima says.

"Kirishima, none of that was your fault. You were the victim, you can't blame yourself for what happened," Todoroki reassures. "I know how it is to come from a place like that. It took me a while to learn that whoever abused me, didn't define me."

Kirishima nods as tears start to flow from his face. He tugs at the roots of his hair in anger and frustration for what his father did to him. For bringing different women home every night and knowing that he'd wake up with bruises the next day. Todoroki walks up to him, wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug. "It's okay to cry, Eiji. You're safe, you're alive, and you're here."

After dabbing his face dry with tissues, Todoroki raises his hand. "I would like to tell my tale next, if you don't mind going last Izuku."

"Oh I don't mind, go ahead," Izuku says, resting his head on Katsuki's shoulder.

"Much like Kirishima's story, my father was also a pimp, but he ran a strip club as well," Todoroki starts. "In this strip club, I was actually a stripper, just for the mere fact that I was a 'purebred' meaning my hair tone and eye color were different than that of the other strippers in the club. As the son of the owner-slash-pimp, my mother was the one who was safe haven. She asked me if I wanted to grow out my hair, if I wanted it short, and whether or not I was okay with the lifestyle that we have been sucked into.

"Then, push came to shove and I was on the receiving end of abuse as well. My mother attacked him from behind and just told me to run, run as far as I can until the building was out of my sight. I followed her direction and did as told," Todoroki runs a weary hand through his two-toned hair. "I remember crying and crying that my mother sacrificed her life to save mine when I could have thought of a way to get her to come with me. A couple of years later, I received a phone call from my sister, who was working the bar in the club. She called to tell me that our mom was safe, and our dad was nowhere to be found. It both made me relieved and scared. Relieved, because my mother was alive and well and living with my sister. Scared, because my father may come out of nowhere and find me."

"Fuck him," Katsuki growls. 

Izuku giggles and Kirishima chuckles, the tension alleviating in the room. Todoroki smiles in tandem. "Yes, fuck him, indeed. To make my story short, I'm glad that I have followed my mother's advice, not knowing where I was going in the long run anyways. I am so glad to have found not one, but three guys who make my heart soar and to feel things that I haven't felt in years. Thank you, for being my newest safe haven."

They all dog pile Todoroki, hearing a small  _oof!_ in the background, laughter fluttering through the air as they attack his face with kisses. Afterwards, they all sit up and fix themselves on the couch. Their attention turns toward Izuku, who stares right back. "Oh! Is it my turn already?"

"Yes. You don't get out of it, Zuku," Kirishima says, sending a comforting smile towards his boyfriend.

Izuku looks down at his lap, fiddling with his fingernails. "Well, you see. When I was younger, dance was everything to me. I can't remember a time where I didn't dance. It was something that made the most sense, and it was easy to do. My parents were very supportive, and made me make sure that I wanted to love what I was doing. Um, one day, an earthquake hit New York, and I don't know if Kiri and Todo remember it, but it scared us badly. My dad told me and my mom to get to the basement, saying he needed to take care of something first. After the earthquake, my mom comes back up and saw that our dad was...he was under a bookshelf. Our roof was collasped, and he died on impact.

"Throughout middle school I was bullied by others, and I wouldn't be doing anything to taunt them into bullying me, they were just mean like that. Then that's when I met Kirishima, and turned my life around," Izuku shrugs, as if his story was nonchalant. Katuski pushes his shoulder. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Don't just shrug your story off as if it's not important. It's just as important as ours were," Katsuki mutters.

"I know, i-it's a habit when I shrug. I-it's not on purpose," Izuku explains. Katsuki grunts in confirmation, wrapping an arm around Izuku's waist, pulling him close. Todoroki pulls his legs up to lay them across Kirishima's lap, sighing when Kirishima starts to rub his feet. 

"So, what do we do now?"

"We sleep, what else are we supposed to do?"

* * *

 

As they all make their way into Katsuki's bed, trying to find a way to make an effective spoonish in the bed. Is spoonish a word? Well, it is today!

"Smallest on the inside. So Izuku is in the middle, and we'll just find our way around him."

"That sounds like a good plan until one of the bigger people is knocked off the bed."

"I-I can just sleep on the outside."

"Fuck no. Here's the sleeping order: Kirishima, Izuku, Todoroki, then me."

"Okay, so are you spooning me or am I spooning you, Katsu?"

"I'm spooning you, Candy Cane. Ain't nobody spooning me."

"Alright guys, let's try it."

Kirishima climbs onto the bed, climbing in until his back is facing the wall. Izuku falls in after him, turning around so that his back is pressed against Kirishima's chest, feeling Kirishima's arm drape over his waist. Todoroki crawls in, facing Izuku and Katsuki is last, his back is facing the outside, wrapping an arm around Todoroki. "Is everyone comfortable?" Katsuki asks.

"Yes."

"Mhm."

"Yessir."

Katsuki hums in contentment. "Alright, now go to sleep," He reaches down to kiss Todoroki's neck, then leans over to kiss Izuku's lips. He picks up Kirishima's hand, placing a kiss on it. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

"Night night."

"Goodnight."

...

"Izuku did you just say 'night night'-?"

"It's a habit!"

 


	11. Chapter Ten: Kaminari

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I realized I haven't been shedding enough light on the sparky boi so I plan on including him more in the chapters as I go along. Plus, I am really sorry it took me this long to make a new chapter. Again, I've just finished taking finals and I really missed writing this story (and after looking it over, I have a lot of editing to do), so I'm going to update this story to the best of my abilites! Without further ado, I hope you enjoy the chapter. Additional notes will be at the end for updates, and please leave kudos and comments so that I can improve in this story!

It's December, everyone is feeling festive for Christmas, New Years, Hannukah and numerous religions that are celebrated around this holiday season. The air is cool, chilly, chilling your insides as well, and it makes you want to stay inside and drink hot chocolate. Some enjoyed the day ice skating with family, walking in and out of bookstores, chatting with old friends as they pull their peacoats close to themselves, including knitted hats. Most decided to stay home while others had to come outside to get errands done for their home, having to go to work, or for other activity that required their presence today.

So if you're not a member of U.A.'s Dance of Elite, consider yourself blessed that you stay inside.

The dance studio did not have any time to waste as the team is preparing to go up for one of the biggest dance competitions in the season, and it does not go unnoticed that the team needs to step up to the plate, come up with different choreography and to be the best of the best at this competition. It is highly anticipated that U.A. makes it out on top and to show the world that their winning streak isn't going to stop at any competition that they are going to be at. As the students file in from the frozen tundra outside and into the ballet rooms, warming up their feet and stretching tired limbs, the smell of eucalyptus and mint fills Izuku's nose. It's one of his favorite smells. Well, it's the first, and he has a list of smells that he really likes. For example, the smell of cinnamon reminds him of Katsuki, the smell of pine trees reminds him of Kirishima, and the smell of peppermint or anything minty is Shouto. "Ah, e-eucalyptus and mint. One of my favorite s-smells. Recovery Girl is n-nice for bringing in candles." Izuku was wearing an off-white puff coat with stretch pants and black sneakers. His hair disarray and decorated with snowflakes due to the fact that he walked here. He could have taken the bus, but he doesn't really need to if the studio is only fifteen minutes away from his home. Plus, the train can unexpectedly break down sometimes, and he is not chancing of being stuck on a cold train. So, he'd rather walk.

"I'll say, these candles are nothing to mess around with," Kirishima trails in behind him, fiery red hair hidden under a black beanie, shaking his hair free as he pulls off the beanie. He's wearing a black, oversized sweater with gray joggers and white shoes. "I just hope this smell lingers into the studio, what with us working up a sweat and all, I don't want to smell that all the time. Isn't that right, Katsuki?"

Katuski looks up from his dance bag, pulling out a water bottle and a pack of apples. He was wearing a white, long sleeve shirt and white jogging pants, but his shoes were black combat boots, which is expected at this point. Katuski loves combat boots. His unruly blond hair covering part of his face, and he pushes it back, revealing a set of intense ruby eyes. He squints."What are you going on about?"

"The nice smell in the air! Wouldn't you want to smell this all the time?" Kirishima grins as Katsuki grunts in response. The door opens behind them, blasting in cold air, clashing with the warmth radiating the studio already. It's Shouto. His red and white hair tossled up in a messy bun to make it resemble a pink of some sorts, and he is bundled up with a puffy blue coat, and a even bluer scarf to match. His cheeks are red from the outside as well as his nose, and his blue and grey eyes are standing out and his boyfriends can hint out the smallest scattering of freckles dusting the bridge of his nose and below his eyes, which was cool in a way that his eyes are more prominent in the winter time rather than the summer, fall or spring, but they love him all the same. Kirishima smirks softly as he watches his boyfriend walk into the building. "Well, well, well. If it isn't mister handsome. I was just about to ask where you were."

"Sorry. My alarm clock didn't go off when I thought it would. I must've forgotten to set it last night," Todoroki walks over to the trio, giving each of them a peck on the lips. He sets his bag down next to the others, unzipping the bag and pulling out his tan flats. He pulls his hair out of the bun it is in, and retwists it into a simple ponytail, and slightly pushing his bangs out of his face to make eye contact with the others. "If we didn't have practice today, I would've stayed inside."

"Can't aruge with that," Kirishima agrees, walking into the studio, finding Kaminari and Aizawa already there. Kirishima notices that Kaminari was in dance clothes and not his usual streetwear. "Hey, Kaminari. What's up?"

Kaminari shrugs his shoulders, wiping a hand over his face and that's when Kirishima realizes that Kaminari is sweating profusely and slightly out of breath. "Just working on something for our Instagram page. You know, the one where we film our studio dances?" Which, in some sorts, is true. U.A. loves to put out new numbers for the people to see, and Kaminari is kind of in charge of running the Instagram page. Filming the dance, editing the video to make it look sleek and to have smooth transitions, or other times he himself is in the video, it just takes place in a different studio.

Izuku, Katsuki, Shouto and the others file into the ballet room. They immediately start for the barres, having to be stopped by Aizawa. "We're not going to start with barre today. Instead, we're going to talk about the last dance competition and what we can improve on. From there, we'll do barre, then assign solos and group dances to those who will do it, and you may be just surprised as to who I pick to do the solos," Grinning when he looks amongst the sea of students, confusion clear on their faces, Aizawa gestures to the floor, and they all sit. "As you already know, our competition was quite a while ago, and we are currently working on a new dance for Todoroki, Midoriya, Bakugou and Kirishima. However, when looking at the scores of the last competition, we need to change things around, and I will be harder on some of you in terms of technique, core work, acro-technique, so on and so forth. With that, we will be starting completely from scratch. Whatever number you were working on with Midnight, Midoriya and Todoroki, completely forget about that. The routine that you, Bakugou and Kirishima, were working with me is completely scratched as well.

"There will be five solos, given that we are entering Nationals week and I need people that are strong enough to get us a win. We will be heading up to Soul of Dance, right here in New York. The five solos will go to Midoriya, Kirishima, Todoroki, Bakugou and Kaminari. Each of these routines will differ from the last one, theme wise. These will all be lyrical or modern. Midoriya, you will be doing a lyrical piece entitled 'It's Only Me'. Todoroki, the modern piece that you will be doing is called 'Let Me Out'. Kirishima, the title of the lyrical solo is 'Sound the Alarm', Bakugou will be doing a modern solo called, 'Loving You', and last but not least, Kaminari will do a modern solo called, 'Country Side'. Each of these pieces are dark, yes, but the meaning behind each of them is different, and I will explain after the warm up. Get up, dust yourself off, and prepare for floor work."

After they get to center stage to prepare for the floor exercise, Aizawa goes through his observations from the last competition. "Midoriya. Your technique is great, but be careful about your feet. You tend to sickle your heels and that is going to cost us points. Kirishima, your arms need work. As someone who took ballet for more than half of his life, I don't understand where I don't see you using the knowledge that you have in this class and applying it to your solo. Todoroki, watch your spotting. The tendency to look at the floor and not looking straightforward will throw you off your balance, and will send you tumbling. Lastly, Bakugou. Work on your facial expressions. Given your duet with Todoroki from a while ago, your face became stoic halfway through. Also, Todoroki if you make last minute adjustments to the program, tell me first and see if it will make sense with the piece. There is no reason as to why you should have changed the ending last minute. If that happens again, I will not have you perform another solo for the rest of the season. Understood, all of you?" After receiving numerous head nods from across the room, Aizawa starts the music. "Start in fifth, changement into second then demi plie, tendu into a pirouette with the right foot leading, fouette, pirouette one more time and finish. We'll repeat it on the other side once we're done with this one. Begin."

* * *

Kaminari was the last person anyone would expect to get a solo this week, given the fact that they always see him behind the scenes or creating tapes for those that are dancing in competition. However, everyone was more than happy to see Kaminari dip his toes into the dancing world, and to see what he can do. 

As it turns out, Kaminari is a dancing member of the team, he just helps out a lot in different aspects if it is needed. For example, if Kaminari was not needed for the solos or the group number, he would run to get costumes, fittings, the music together, and to have everything already prepared come competition time. Kaminari has been dancing for U.A. since he was three, and he met Kirishima and Midoriya when he was twelve. He prefers modern dance over anything else, so he's really excited that Aizawa gave him a modern piece. He already looked over the music to see what song he would be dancing to, and he loves it a lot, but it's going to be a surprise until the day of competition. As everyone disbands after an hour of floor warmups, Kirishima claps a hand on Kaminari's shoulder, grinning widely. "Dude, I'm excited to see you dance with us! It's been a while since I've seen you dance. I kinda missed it."

Kaminari smiles, biting into the granola bar that he brought. "I'm excited too. I just don't want to mess things up. I'm a little rusty so don't expect a lot." A hand thwacks him on the shoulder, causing Kaminari to yelp out in pain. He turns around to see Bakugou rolling his eyes. He pouts as he rubs his wounded shoulder. "What was that for?"

"For doubting yourself, nitwit. Just believe in your abilities, practice your ass off and you'll be fine," Bakugou advises. "Besides, we will all be competing for the number one spot, and from the looks of things, having five solos from one dance company is going to be tough to pull off."

Kaminari and Kirishima raise an eyebrow, eyes squinting at Bakugou, who is giving them a confused look. "You sound a little concerned for our instructor. Almost as if you don't have any faith in him. Do you get that vibe, Kirishima dearest?"

Kirishima sighs, putting a hand over his chest where his heart should be. "Aye, I do, Kaminari dearest. We must separate ourselves from this non-believer. Quick, make haste!" As they make an escape to leave, Bakugou reaches out to wrap his arms around Kirishima's midsection, pulling his boyfriend close to himself. Kirishima pouts and crosses his arms. "You couldn't let me get a head start before you reached for me?"

"You should know good and damn well that I'm clingy when I want to be, and this is one of those times. You signed up for this, so there's no reason that you should be pouting right now," Bakugou points out, resting his chin on Kirishima's shoulder.

Izuku and Todoroki comes up to the group after helping put away the barres. They also switched out of their pointe shoes for the standard beige flats. "K-Kaminari! I'm really e-excited for you to d-dance in the competition this weekend!" Izuku exclaims, his eyes sparkling with excitement amongst his flushed face from the exercise. His green hair was tossled from running his hands through it to get it out of his face, then Katsuki had mercy on him and decided to give him a headband. "I'm s-sure you'll do a fantastic j-job!"

Kaminari smiles brightly at Izuku. Todoroki nods his head in agreement. "Even though we are going to be competing for the trophy, there's no reason to not cheer each other on as proper dance mates." As their conversation continues to carry on, Kaminari can't help the bundle of nerves in his stomach the more he thinks about this competition. He hasn't danced in a long time, so to suddenly come back and to have a solo with four other guys that have been in more competitions than he has, it is a lot to take in, and it's even more weight on his shoulders as the stakes are raised in his favor. 

* * *

 _Desperado_ by Rihanna was the song that Kaminari is dancing to. In this specific routine, Kaminari is dancing about a love interest that he is infatuated with, and that the person needs him no matter what. They're desperate, but they could run away together and live a life by themselves. So, in this routine, Kaminari is going to have a notebook and a pen in his hand. This dance requires a lot of core strength, technique, leaps and jumps a lot of acro-work. This is fine for Kaminari, who has taken gymnastics and ballet practically his entire life, so this wouldn't be a challenge for him. It's just the actually doing it from coming back after not dancing for a while is what is driving him insane. 

"Kaminari, you will be dancing to  _Desperado,_ and I will be hard on you about your feet, your legs, arms, placement on the floor and everything. I'm doing this to the others as well, because they all need improvement. You got the choreography from Midnight, yes?" Aizawa says, earning a nod from Kaminari. "Good. Do a dry run through. I will call out fixes as I see fit. I will start the music."

Kaminari starts center stage, sitting in a chair, feet pointed and legs together. His head comes up, leaning his whole body to the left side of the chair in a faux-ariel split. While his right leg is in the air, his chest is pressed to the floor, and supports himself back into the chair. Kaminari then gets up from the chair, turning out in a classic turn with hands in second position, leading into a pirouette, tendu in fourth to the back, running backwards into a grand jete. 

As he is going through the routine, Aizawa is pointing out fixes with Kaminari. "Correct your feet when you land in second. Fix the heel when you come up from the floor, it looks sickled. Where is the emotion in your face? I need to see it, otherwise you won't do it correctly when it comes time to perform this!"

They run through the routine two more times before Aizawa calls for a break. "Kaminari, you are doing well in practice, but there are small errors that I will be paying attention to. Make sure you apply my corrections, understood? Now, towards the end part of your piece, there is a fouette, a three-step into an ariel split, then you end in a vertical leg-raise. I would like to see it before we end practice today. Center stage, I will be playing from the last bit of the last chorus that is said. Ready. Go."

Kaminari does two fouettes, two pirouettes, turning into the three-step for the ariel-split, doing the ariel split, adding in another turn, then ending it off with the leg raise. Aizawa cuts off the music, nodding in satisfaction. "Good. Better than what I thought it was going to be. I'm glad that you added the additional turn into the leg raise, nice touch. Body-wise, how are you feeling?"

Kaminari shrugs. "I feel alright. My body is getting used to being stretched long and wide, so my limbs kind of ache, but I love the feeling. Other than that, I feel fine."

Aizawa places a hand on Kaminari's shoulder. "Good. Now, costume-wise, what do you think would work for this solo?" 

Kaminari tilts his head to the side, humming as he thinks of what his costume should entail. He suddenly perks up with an idea. "I do have something in mind."

* * *

After rehearseals, Kaminari catches Izuku, Katsuki, Kirishima and Shouto heading out for night, and stops them before they walk out of the door. "Wait! Um, I just wanted to ask for some assistance, if that's alright with you guys."

The four men look at each other, then back to Kaminari. "It's no p-problem. What do you need help with?" Izuku asks, setting down his stuff and walking closer to Kaminari. 

"Just the ending of my solo. I just need to perfect it by the end of this week and it's a little rusty. I was wondering if you would be okay in helping me get the last part as decent it can be before the end of the week?"

Kirishima walks forward as well, Katsuki and Shouto following suit. "Of course we'll help you. Lead the way."

[x]

"He wants you to do all of that?" Todoroki asks, frowning slightly at the choreography Kaminari presented them with. "He wants you to go from an ariel split into a leg raise? That's unrealistic."

"I tried to add in a few more turns and that fortunately worked out in my favor. I just need someone to spot me and to make sure that I am not fucking up," Kaminari runs a hand through yellow hair, which was now in a low ponytail from messing around with it too much. "Ready when you guys are."

Katsuki calls out from the side. "Go."

As Kaminari dances the last part of his routine, the others have a lot of feedback to give. For starters, his feet are twisted together by the time he gets to the last part, and that's the biggest issue of how difficult it's going to be to end it on a good note. Another piece of advice was timing. Towards the end, the lyrics are slower and slower, and Kaminari doens't need to rush it, which leaves some awkward spaces to fill in for another beat and a half. Lastly, his legs in the ariel split aren't straight enough, and his arms are doing a funky thing at the same time. After receiving the feedback and a lot of fixing on his mistakes, Kaminari collapses to the ground, running his hand down his face. "Ugh! I'm so stressed about this dance. I just want to do well because I'm coming back after a long time of not dancing. I just don't want to mess anything up."

"Dipshit, you're forgetting that we have another two to three days of practice. On top of that, this building is open for us to use it to our advantage, so there's no reason that you should be worked up about this," Katuski points out, leaning against Todoroki's right shoulder, who places a kiss to Katsuki's temple, nuzzling the spot he kissed. 

Izuku nods in agreement. "H-he's right. Aizawa kn-knows that the routines are difficult. That's w-why he lets us use the s-space." Kirishima wraps an arm around Izuku's midsection in a casual hug. "I can s-show you an ariel split if y-you're having trouble."

Kaminari clasps his hands together in a praying position. "Can you please? That would be lovely. Then, after that, I won't ask for any more help. Because it's late and I want to get out of here."

Izuku moves to center stage. "Three steps into it, right?"

Kaminari nods. Izuku takes a deep breath to collect himself. "Just make sure your feet are pointed when doing it, as well as getting your knees as straight as humanly possible, which is harder for some because not everyone has long legs." Izuku advises. He takes the three steps and does the ariel split perfectly. Kaminari may as well give the solo to Izuku because there's no way he can do it nearly as perfect as Izuku. He looks at the others. "Can you all do that?"

They all raise their hands, and Kaminari puts his face in his own. "Well, I can kind of do it. I'm not as flexible as Izu. Neither is Katsuki. Todoroki can do it really well, though. Kat and I can do a really good standing heel stretch." Kirishima explains. Kaminari sinks to the floor, and curls into a fetal position.

Kaminari has a lot of work ahead of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love you all and I will see you next time!


	12. Chapter 11: Edible

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I would give a summary for this chapter, but the direction of this story just got away from me.

_Now when he grabs you by the waist_

_Put that **** in his face_

* * *

Kaminari needed to cool down from working so hard in practice. He would go back to his apartment, but he felt the night would be over if he went home (because he'd go right to sleep), and there wasn't really anyone there. Katuski was with his boyfriends, leaving Kaminari by himself (though he really couldn't blame that on Katsuki, common sense told him that) all alone in the cold with really no sense of direction as to where he wanted to go. He had a lot on his mind from practice, coming back after mixing tapes for the team and seeing them dance made him miss being apart of the action. To be quite frank, Kaminari did have experience under his belt, but he felt he was more of a background dancer than anything else, that he didn't possess the same artistry like the others, and that made Kaminari hate it more than anything else.

He was raised into being a Plain Jane. Nothing more, nothing less.

Kaminari pulls his black leather jacket tighter around his body, his yellow hair in a low bun resting at the nape of his neck, bright golden eyes searching for any place or any  _thing_ that could occupy his time right now. Let's see; there was a yoga place, although Kaminari tried yoga once and practically pulled a muscle, so that was out of the equation. Oh, how about an all-you-can-eat buffet? Kaminari liked that option, but he already stocked the fridge with leftovers and he didn't want it to overflow, so that's a no. As he walked past different buildings, he was starting to give up and head back home, take a shower, put on cozy pajamas, heat up left over takeout, and watch  _Boy Meets World._

Until a club came into his view. Kaminari walks up to the building and stops at the main door. He sees there isn't a bouncer nor a line of people waiting to get in, so he's assuming that the club is shut down for the night. He peers up at the name of the club,  _Kiken'na_ (translation: dangerous). The lights were all on around the outside of the club, but there wasn't anybody outside. Kaminari sighs, looking back to the sidewalk and begins his journey home. He doesn't get very far when a voice says:

"Psst. Hey, you."

Kaminari stops in his tracks. He looks around himself, wondering who said that. Not seeing anybody around him, he looks back to the door of the club, which is slightly cracked and reveals a man arond his age. His hair was styled upward and was all purple. Bags were prominent under his eyes, and his style was dark and simple. A gray and black flannel tucked into black pants with holes at the knees. To finish the look, the man had on classic Vans and a silver chain that hung around his neck. His fingers were decorated with rings and his wrists had bracelets on them. Kaminari turns his full body to the man. "Yes?"

"I saw you standing outside. Did you wanna come in?" the man offered.

Raising an eyebrow, Kaminari crosses his arms over his chest. "Aren't you guys closed? I mean there isn't anyone outside and there aren't people waiting in line. I assumed the club was closed is what I'm trying to say," Kaminari explains.

The man cocks his head to the side. "We're still open, just exclusively to close friends and those who are invited."

"Am I being invited?" Kaminari guesses. He hopes he is, because it's really cold and he doesn't want to freeze to death. "Unless you're just telling me that you are exclusive members and not really inviting me, then I guess I better head home."

Turning back around to head home for the second time, the man calls to him again. "It is an invitation. Come inside."

Kaminari mentally does a fist pump, mostly because this gets him out of the cold and into a warm building with drinks and food. Walking into the building after the guy holds open the door for him, Kaminari takes a look around of the scenery. Dimly lit, but not low enough to not tell who was in the room, multiple tables are placed amongst the area. A bar was tucked away in the back, people chattering around it. Next to the club, there was a booth that belonged to the DJ, along with two microphones, some instruments, and a dance floor (of course). After walking further into the club, the man turns around to face Kaminari. "You like it?"

"It's pretty nice," Kaminari compliments, making the man hum in tandem. "By the way, what's your name? I didn't catch it."

"That's because I didn't throw it," The man smirks. Kaminari rolls his eyes and turns around to fake leave. "I'm just busting your balls. The name's Shinsou. Shinsou Hitoshi, and you are-"

"Kaminari. Kaminari Denki," Kamiari greets himself. Shinsou nods his head, leading Kaminari to the bar in the back. He leans against the counter, Kaminari following suit. Shinsou orders his drink, asking if Kaminari wanted anything, to which he respectfully declines the offer. After sitting in silence for a few moments, Kaminari decides to make conversation with the guy. "So, are you the owner of this place or...?"

"Sorta kinda. I co-own it. So my partner owns half of it, and I get the other half," Shinsou explains. "We started it up around two years ago, and we moved from all over New York before settling down over here."

Kaminari raises both eyebrows in surprise. "Really? Two years? I walk past here all the time for the past two years and I've never seen this place. Then again, it's during the afternoon when I do pass and the lights aren't on, so I guess that;s kind of on me."

Shinsou shrugs his shoulders. "We're not really a bustling club like the others around here, but we still pull in a good profit daily," he looks Kaminari up and down, recognizing that he's not in regular street clothes. "Are you a dancer or something?"

Kaminari nods his head, grinning. "Yeah, I'm apart of a team. You may have heard of them, U.A.'s Dance of Elite. We're a competitive team, so we travel a lot."

Shinsou looks at him with an impressed look. "Nice. You've been dancing forever or is this recent?"

"Yes and no. It's complicated. I've been on the team for a really long time, practically back when I was in high school. However, I stopped for a while due to personal reasons and I just became a DJ and producing small-time music for a while. But, I just got back into the routine of dancing, because I missed it."

"So since you're a dancer again, are you still producing your music?" Shinsou asks, thanking the dartender for his drink, and takes a small sip of the beverage. 

Kaminari shrugs, tucking a yellow hair behind his ear. "I mean, I'll try to, but I don't want to overexert myself with so many things going on. So, I'll just take it one step at a time. If you don't mind me asking, but is managing a club all that you do or do you do something else in your free time?"

Shinsou hums to himself, deep in thought. A grin cracks on his face as he sets the drink down and stalks past Kaminari. "Lemme show you."

Confused, Kaminari watches as Shinsou heads to the stage where the two microphones are in place, and grabs one of them. He checks the mic and the sound in the room. Shinsou then goes back to the booth, and connects his phone to the speakers. He walks back to the stage with his phone in his hand, ready to play the instrumental of whatever song he is about to sing. "Hey, if y'all don't mind, I would like to sing a little sample of a song I'm working on for a new EP I'm putting out, and I would just like to see if you guys like the record. How does that sound?" After hearing collective encouragement from the audience, Shinsou grins, pressing play to the soundtrack. 

As Shinsou starts to sing, his voice is low, melodic, velvety, mature, playful, vibrado hinted here and there with the song, and the song itself is just downright beautiful.

_Sorry if I speak about me too much_

_I'm sorry that your illness is the subsequential reason_

_You don't eat too much_

_It's obvious we drink too much_

_I'm sorry that your father never loved you_

_You only saw your mother on the TV too much, oh_

The beat behind the words almost put Kaminari in a trance-like state. It matched perfectly with the emotion of the song, the weight of the message the lyrics carried, and everything seemed like it fell in alignment with this song. 

 _So, Shinsou's a recording artist._ Kaminari can dig it.

After performing a snippet of the song, the crowd cheers in his favor, some yell 'Encore, encore!' as he exits the stage. After disconnecting his phone from the speaker, Shinsou walks right up to Kaminari with a small smile on his face. "So, as you can see I'm a singer/songwriter."

Kaminari nods his head. "I see. But seriously, that song was really amazing. The lyrics were so passionate but held a message and a lot of people can relate to this song. From a technical standpoint, the instruments were perfect for this song. Really."

Shinsou's full on smiling now, and Kaminari wants to burn the image into his brain. "Thanks. Now, it's your turn."

Kaminari blinks twice. "Who said this was a competition?"

"I made it one. Unless, I don't know, you're scared," Shinsou holds up his hands in mock surrender. "You don't have to do it, that's cool, too."

Kaminari rolls his eyes. "Please, I'm not a wimp. I'll do something. Hold my bag." He passes his dance bag to Shinsou, strips his leather jacket and hands him that, too. Kaminari walks to the booth, and asks the DJ to play a specific song, getting the okay from the DJ. He walks to the center of the dance floor. Back before he stopped dancing with the elite team and started producing music tapes, Kaminari was always put in routines that were...seductive, if you will. Kaminari didn't complain, because he dominated in that department.

So this wasn't going to stop him now.

"Alright, cats! Introducing to the floor, Kaminari Denki," The DJ announces as onlookers cheer on the yellow-haired dancer. As the song started to play, a slow melody fills the room. Now, the song itself is kind of nasty, but it's really just about finding the one and having them satisfy you.

_Now when he grab you by the waist_

_Put that **** in his face_

_Eat the cake like Debbie made, don't let that shit go to waste_

_We got no more time to waste, gotta run out on the stage_

_Hold me up and penetrate me, fans are waiting don't delay me_

Kaminari swivels his hips around, and works the dance floor like the ones before him taught him how to. He dances like there is no tomorrow, and draws the attention of the others in the room. He makes sure that others are watching him, and him only. He's dancing for them as if they don't believe he dances and that he needs to prove them wrong. Shinsou is staring him down from across the room, and a pink tongue runs over the bottom lip ever so slowly. Kaminari bites his own and keeps dancing like he's giving him a show.

After he is done, the crowd goes wild. Kaminari blushes a pretty pink, rushing off the dance floor. He thanks multiple people as they compliment him, and walks up to Shinsou, red in the face. Listen, he may be seductive and confident when it comes to dancing in front of others, but when he's off the stage, he's more than likely to be shy and keep to himself. "So, yeah. I dance," Kaminari says, taking his hair out of the now loose bun to redo it. His hair flows just past his shoulders, and he keeps telling himself to get something done to it, but he kind of likes the long look. 

Shinsou shakes his head. "I don't think you just dance."

Kaminari freezes in the process of tying the hair band into his hair. He's confused. "Uh yeah, I just don't dance. I write songs, too. That's about it."

Shinsou shakes his head again. "Nah, other than those two things, you do something else."

"What else do I do?"

"I saw it in you. You had everyone in this room focused on you and you alone. Your eyes were fierce, strong, sly, and  _commanding._ That's what you do. You  _command_ others to pay attention to you."

Kaminari sputters, shaking his head like he heard the craziest news the entire week. Kaminari doesn't command attention, he doesn't think he commands anything. He has a hard time to accept it as a compliment or take it with a grain of salt, because command can be a good thing, and it can be a bad thing. "I. I don't think I ever commanded or  _de_ manded for anything in my life."

Shinsou hums. "Interesting. I have a little experiment I just thought of on the spot. We're going to start a conversation and I'm going to start doing other shit. In order for you to keep my focus, you need to demand it. Ready?"

Kaminari has an incredulous look on his face. "I mean, I guess but how do I know when you're going to-?"

Shinsou turns his head to the right, and starts another conversation with a guy sitting at the bar. "Hey, Charlie! How's the wife and kids doing? That's great! Oh, my mom's doing fine, she's starting her own business and-"

Kaminari gapes his mouth open and closes it. How could he do that in the middle of their conversation? Then again, he was given a warning for this so he should've seen it coming. He reaches up to tap Shinsou on the shoulder. "Hey, Shinsou-"

Shinsou leans on the counter, still carrying on his conversation with the guy as if Kaminari isn't trying to get his attention. "I was just in the studio wondering about what the song list should be, and I've got a couple that  _definitely_ need to go on the EP-"

Another tap. "Shinsou. Look at me." Kaminari's getting slightly annoyed, because he's trying to hold a conversation with him and he just waltzes off. 

"But anyways, how's your toilet business going? I heard you guys are upping in profits, that's gotta be something amazing. Are you going to expand your horizons with the new income flow or-"

That's it.

Kaminari grabs Shinsou's shoulder with his right hand, forcing to turn around to face him, and grips his jaw with the other hand. His eyes are steel, hard, and blazing. "Whoa, Kaminari, I was trying to hold a conversation with Charlie-"

"I don't give a damn if you were trying to hold a conversation with him. He's not me, and I was talking to you first, the last time I checked. Now stop being a dick and  _talk to me when I'm talking to you_ ," Kaminari practically growls, his golden eyes locking into Shinsou's lilac. When he realizes how foolish and how controlling he must look, Kaminari breaks his gaze and lets go of Shinsou's jaw and shoulder. "Um, I don't know what happened."

"When's your competition?" Shinsou says instead. He was originally going to say something along the lines of _do it again, and don't ever stop,_ but that would be a risk to a guy he just met. Then again, his heart is racing already for the lightning in front of him.

"Um, it's coming up this weekend. Why do you ask?"

Shinsou takes a napkin and a pen from the bar, writing something down and hands it to Kaminari. "Text me the details. I will want to see just how you command attention where the stakes are higher," He leans closer, their foreheads almost touching. Kaminari holds his breath, biting his lip in anticipation. The words are whispered, hushed as if they're sharing a secret. "Show me just how much you want the win, and what you will do to take it by force."

Kaminari's eyes flutter in a stuttered blink. He speaks in a small voice. "Okay."

* * *

After Kaminari leaves to go back home, Shinsou pulls his phone out of his pocket, and dials a number. He holds it up to his ear, waiting for the familiar voice on the other end.  _Hello?_

"Hey babe, it's me. Listen, I found the one. He fits in perfect with us."

_Already, Toshi? Alright, where can I meet him?_

"At his dance recital. I'm certain that you'll love what you'll see."

_...this is interesting. Okay, I'm listening. Tell me all the details when you get home._

"Alright baby. I love you."

_I love you too, baby._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you guys soon!


	13. Chapter 12: Well, This Is Nice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kami meets Shinsou's not-so-exclusive-boyfriend, and awkwardness ensues.  
> SOLO SONGS THEY ARE DANCING TO:  
> Izuku's song: Mind is a Prison by Alec Benjamin  
> Kirishima's song: Sirens by Cher Lloyd  
> Todoroki's song: I'll Be Good by Jaymes Young  
> Bakugou's song: Impossible by James Arthur  
> Kaminari's song: Desperado by Rihanna  
> *all songs could be found on spotify and apple music. I'm not sure about soundcloud but if you can find it there, then that works too*

**DAY OF DANCE COMPETITION**

 

It was currently eight o'clock in the morning, and it was the day of Nationals. There weren't that many people outside of the dance studio, instead being the main soloists that were competing in the show today. There were two coach buses outside, one for the National competitors and another for the rest of the team. The reason there were two buses was so that Aizawa could do a run through of what the order of the dances were going to be in terms of the ones dancing from his studio. The other reason of having two buses was that the second bus was heading south of where the competition was being held, due to their being a fundraiser going on for a close friend of Aizawa's, and the notice was kind of last minute. As Aizawa clambers onto the first bus, he sees most of the dancers already on the bus; Kaminari, Kirishima and Todoroki. He frowns as he counts the heads. "Where is Bakugou and Midoriya?"

"They stopped to get a few snacks from a corner store. They'll be here in two minutes tops," Kirishima informs him. As Aizawa nods his head in confirmation, Katsuki and Izuku clamber up the steps to the bus, cheeks and noses flushed from the cold, both carrying their dance bags in their hands. "Ah, even sooner than I had guessed. Aizawa was doing a head count."

Izuku bows toward Aizawa in hurry. "I'm sorry we were running late. We didn't have chance to cook breakfast and we didn't have any snacks in the house, so we had to run somewhere really quick," Izuku says in a rush.

Aizawa shrugs off the apology. "It's not a big deal, Midoriya. Now that you all are here, we can pull off. As we make our way there, I want you guys going over the routines in your head, make sure you have everything with you. When we get there, we'll check in at the table, then head to the changing room so we can brief and go into more detail. Got that?" After getting nods from the five men, Aizawa stands up and walks to the front of the bus, heading down the stairs. "I'll be back. Gotta check with the other bus to make sure they know where they're going. Don't do anything stupid while I'm off this bus."

Aizawa gets off the bus and heads to the second one, and the five sit in complete silence for a while, each one doing their own thing. Todoroki is reading a new book that he started on, Kirishima leaning on his shoulder and reading along with him, asking questions along the way. Katsuki was listening to music and Izuku was doing the same. Kaminari was occpied with thinking about yesterday with Shinsou at the bar. He didn't know how to describe last night. It was enticing, interesting, smoky,  _intense_ -

"You doing alright there, Kami?"

Kaminari looks to his right to see Kirishima looking at him with concerned eyes. His hair was in it's natural state, casting a fringe over his eye and over his button nose. Kaminari smiles at his friend. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just thinking about something."

"Want to talk about it? Because it looks like it's kind of bothering you, whatever it is that you're thinking."

Damn Kirishima and his godforsaken intuition. I mean, it wouldn't hurt to talk about it, right?

Kaminari sighs and turns to face Kirishima. "After practice yesterday, I went strolling and landed outside of a club. Now, it didn't look busy from the outside but the light was still on so I just plainly assumed that it was closed. Then I turned around to head back home until a guy calls out to me and invites me in. Turns out, the guy owns the club and he is also a recording artist. But he saw my dance bag and asked if I was a dancer, and I said yes. I guess you could say I put on a little performance for everybody. After that, it got weirdly intimate. He said with the way I was dancing, it was like I was commanding attention. Now, mind you, this dude is cute as hell. His hair was a lilac color, his style was dark but cool and it made me just want to stare at him forever," Kaminari rants. He now has captured the attention of everyone on the bus, including Kirishima. He clears his throat. "So yeah, that was my night."

Izuku pipes up. "B-by any chance, did you catch the guy's name?"

"Shinsou Hitoshi, I believe."

Katsuki sputters incredulously at Kaminari. "Did you say Shinsou Hitoshi?  _The_ Shinsou Hitoshi?"

Kaminari is frowning at the look Katsuki is giving him. "Yeah," He says unsurely. "What's wrong?"

"Do you realize who you met? This guy is famous all over the world. He's not just another recording artist, this guy has won Grammys."

Pause.

Wait. What?!

"What?! He won Grammys? How many?" Kaminari questions Katsuki.

Katsuki shrugs. "Hell if I know. All I know is that he is apart of a band called HiHa. This duo is legit."

Kirishima speaks from his seat behind Katsuki. "Just Grammy legit or more than that?"

"We're fucking talking Ellen legit, babe."

"Holy shit."

Kaminari can't wrap his head around what they're saying. He basically met a guy who not only owns a club and isn't just some recording artist, but Shinsou Hitoshi is apparently a legend. What. "What the fuck."

Todoroki softly closes his book but not before marking the last page he read with his blue and white bookmark. "I'm surprised you didn't recognize him. He's in the genre of music that you listen to all the time."

"He is?" Kaminari gasps. He pulls out his phone and goes to his downloaded music. He scrolls through it to eventually find, yep, HiHa, and a song from their album downloaded on his phone. He must have added it a long time ago and told himself to listen to it, but never really got around to doing it anyway. He face palms himself, shaking his head slightly. "I've had their music on my phone this entire time. I'm an idiot."

The four men before nod their heads in agreement with Kaminari. Izuku pulls out his phone from his pocket, tapping away and clicking on different things through an internet search of the band. His eyebrows shoot upward. "Did you know he has a boyfriend, Kaminari?" Izuku turns his phone around to the rest of the group, showing a recent news article and many pictures that are linked to it. "The guy's name is Sero Hanta. They formed the band a while ago and also have been dating for a little over three years. Though, this article was last updated three months ago so who knows what could have changed."

Katsuki pulls an earbud out of his ear and reaches over to grab Izuku's phone gently. "If we want confirmation, we go to his Instagram, obviously."

Todoroki leans over the seat, watching his boyfriend scroll through instagram and finding Shinsou's handle. "Try the band account, then see if they tagged themselves in the photos, then tap on the tagged photo and go through his profile."

Kirishima stands up as well, watching Bakugou do as suggested. As he scrolls through the band's page, Katsuki taps on a photo that Shinsou is tagged in, and taps on the tagged name. It takes him to a personal page where there are more candid photos of Shinsou and the band then professional shots. The most recent picture with Shinsou and Sero was last night, and in the photo Sero's face isn't showing, because it looks like there is a blanket pulled up to his nose, and he is seen sleeping. 

_**shinsouhito** _

_**came home last night to see my baby sleeping. he tried to wait up for me <3** _

_**1 day ago** _

Oh. So that's what it was, huh? Katsuki passes the phone around to the others and when it gets to Kaminari, his eyes water with guilt and hurt. He met Shinsou yesterday and he thought they were hitting off on a good note. The others notice him about to cry, and Izuku gently takes the phone away from him. "Kaminari, it's alright-"

"No it's not," Kaminari sobs. "I thought I was having a nice time with him yesterday and he seemed really cool, but this is not okay. He can't flirt with others and have a significant other at home waiting for him. I don't want anything to do with that." Kaminari wipes his eyes and nose on the sleeve of his jacket. He's not the type to break up happy homes, so he'll just have to avoid seeing Shinsou again.

 _*ding*_ Kaminari's phone goes off. He holds it up to see a text message from the man of the hour.

_**Shinsou:** _

_Can't wait to see you perform today. You're gonna kill it._

If there was a way to punch through phones, Kaminari was all for it.

**_Me:_ **

_Thanks._

He turns around in his seat and stares out the window. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

When they arrive to the site of the dance competition, the bus lets them off at the main entrance of the building. They trample off the bus, groggy and all with numerous bags in their hands. After they check in at the front desk, Aizawa leads them to their changing room, spacious enough for them to practice their individual dance routines. In the room, there is also five vanity mirrors with places to put their special makeup, headpieces to their costumes and other things. As they file into the room, Aizawa addresses a few things. "First things first: the order in which who goes when. First it's Todoroki, then after two solos, it's Kirishima, then Bakugou right away, then Kaminari right away, after two more, then Izuku goes last. Any questions?" When he received no qualms, he kept going. "Second, I have your costumes done and ready. Todoroki, Midoriya and Kaminari, you all should have black leotards. Bakugou and Kirishima, you should have your nude leotards. Any questions about any concerns you have right now?" Again after hearing no qualms, Aizawa dimisses them, but not before giving them their individual pieces.

When they go to their rightful corners, everyone changes right away, because you aren't sure when someone can't go before you're suddenly thrusted into a different sequence of who goes when, so it's best to be prepared. After they've changed, they all take a look at each other's outfits. Katsuki's costume is simple, tan tight shorts that ended at the knee with intricate designs trailing up and down the sides. He's also wearing his nude flats. Todoroki is wearing his black leotard, a flowly sheer black top over it, black leggings and no flats. Kirishima is wearing his nude leo with spaghetti straps and shows off a lot of his back. For bottoms, he is wearing white leggings and white flats. Izuku is also wearing a spaghetti strap black leotard that shows off a lot of his toned back as well, and he is wearing shorts similar to Katsuki's, but they are black as well. However, Kaminari is wearing a short sleeved leotard with sheer black leggings. He has ruffles hanging on the back of his leggings. 

"Well I'll be damned. We all look good as hell," Kirishima compliments, looking around the room at the others and smiling softly. They look at each other with smiles on their faces. "Now the hard part, the makeup. Shouto, can you help me please?" He gives Todoroki puppy dog eyes, who sighs helplessly and takes Kirishima's hand, dragging him over to the vanity mirror, the special makeup already in place for him. As Todoroki goes to work on his face, Kirishima smiles dreamily up at him. "Thank you, baby."

Todoroki pauses, staring at Kirishima with a shy smile on his face. His hair was draped over his shoulders, making him look soft and like a dream. Todoroki snorts. "Whatever." He starts to put makeup on Kirishima's face, giggling when Kirishima makes a face. "Stop, Eijirou. I'm going to mess up."

"Alright alright, I'm done," Kirishima says. 

Katsuki and Izuku are helping each other stretch, making sure they don't pull a muscle. "How do you feel about your solo?" Izuku asks. 

Katsuki shrugs his shoulders. "It has a high level of difficulty, but I definitely pull it off," He stands up, helping Izuku up with him. "How about yours? I didn't get a chance to see you do it. How do you feel about it?"

Izuku tucks a green strand behind his ear, his gaze at the floor. He tends to do that when he's very shy. "I-I don't know. I mean, it's a good song. I just don't want to mess up the choreography-"

Katsuki pulls Izuku's head up by his chin. "Hey, none o' that," He leans in, placing a gentle and chaste kiss on Izuku's lips. "You always psyche yourself out of doing good, most of the time it works in your favor of landing in top three. But this is Nationals, babe. Don't overthink it, just do it."

Izuku's big doe eyes stare into Katsuki's and Katsuki has to mentally pinch himself later to see if he's real. "Okay. Okay, I'm okay. I promise."

Kaminari wants what they all have--each other. Before he could make himself sadder than necessary, he busies himself with putting on his makeup. His makeup was going to look more feminine than masculine, and that's just the way he likes it. Flowly yellow hair, golden cat eyes with a body that was more curvy than stoic. Kaminari gets mistaken for a girl all the time, and his voice doesn't really help either. 

By the time they're all ready to go on, it's time for Todoroki to go on. His hair done half-up, half down. He wasn't wearing any makeup, but he did have a headpiece on, a black flower crown sewed into his head. The level of difficulty with his performance was definitely high, his routine involving more technique then tricks. However the tricks involved were on a professional level. The routine ends him in a fetal position with his head down. As he steps off into the wings, he sees the others waiting for him. He smiles, panting slightly from dancing, his blood running hot with adrenaline. "You all didn't have to wait for me," Todoroki says, taking a hair tie that Katsuki brought for him and ties his hair. "Kirishima you go next, correct?"

"Yeah. Turns out both dudes dropped out. Apparently, they caught an illness and said they couldn't do it. I felt like that was like an poor ass excuse but it's whatever," Kirishima informs, wrapping an arm around Todoroki's waist and pulling him close. 

_Up next, we have Kirishima Eijirou from U.A.'s Dance of Elite_

Kirishima walks out on stage, standing centerstage. As the music begins to play, Kirishima immediately starts with three pirouettes, spinning out and stretching into a lunge. The one thing that makes Kirishima a strong dancer is his arms, his wingspan, and the ability to do a record number of turns necessary. His routine called for a lot of leaps in the air rather than turns, but he didn't complain. At the end of his song, Kirishima waltzes off the stage, his arms perfectly arched and feet pointed. He felt as if he did a good job with his number. 

Next was Katsuki.

Katsuki receives kisses from all of his boyfriends, including a platonic one from Kaminari before he walks out on stage. He walks out on the stage, taking place on the floor as his start. The music starts to play, and he rolls up from the floor and goes into the first half of his routine. Katsuki was makeup-free and didn't have a headless piece either. The choreography called for something bare, so wearing nude clothes made a lot of sense. For his routine, he didn't have any flips or tricks, it was all techniques, which made the scoring a lot more harder on him, since the judges were looking for near-perfection with his technique, and Katsuki was damned if he wasn't going to deliver near-perfection. 

The crowd stands in erupted applause as Katsuki travels off the stage. Then, it was Kaminari's turn. He was nervous as all hell. It was his first time coming back after a long time of not dancing with the team, so the stakes were high in his favor. Plus, he had Shinsou and his boyfriend in the audience with him, so he definitely didn't want to screw up. As the announcer calls his name onto the stage, there was already a chair in place for him. Kaminari takes a seat in the chair, bowing his head and waiting for the music to start. The sultry music starts and Kaminari starts his performance. The choreography was difficult and involved a lot of arching of the back, long legs, and tons and tons of turns. The ending was something he was nervous for, but he didn't have time to worry about that right now. As he comes around the chair, he makes accidentally makes eye contact with someone in the audience.

That someone being Shinsou. Sitting next to him was his boyfriend, Sero Hanta. As famous as they air, it's amazing that they aren't bombarded by rabid fans. Then again, they're in disguise. 

Kaminari's heart stops, and so does the rest of his body. The music is still playing. His mind is suddenly blank. What was the next move? His feet wouldn't budge, his hands were shaking, he was sweating. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the concerned look of his friends. The crowd starts to murmur, whispering to one another at the failed dancer that is Kaminari Denki. Tears start to gather in his eyes from humiliation, his stomach was in knots, and he bolts from the stage. He runs past the others, ignoring them calling his name. 

He doesn't know where he's running to, he doesn't care, but he somehow winds up back in the changing room. He scrubs the makeup off of his face in concealed rage, eyes red and puffy. He ties his hair up in a messy bun and changes out of his costume back into his jogging pants and baggy jacket. Kaminari wants to go home. He wants this day to be over with. Maybe he wasn't meant to be a dancer, maybe he isn't cut out for doing this, that he's only meant for making mixtapes and being a one-hit wonder for the rest of his life. 

The door opens, revealing Todoroki. He walks toward Kaminari, crouching down next to him. He places a kind hand on Kaminari's knee. "Kaminari, can you look at me? Please?" Kaminari shakes his head in refusal. Todoroki talks to him, anyway. "Is it about your dance?" Another head shake. "Is it about Shinsou being here?" Pause, a tentative nod of the head. Todoroki nods. "Is it also about him bringing his partner here?"

Kaminari shrugs helplessly. "I just got so nervous," He sniffles, staring at his fingers sitting in his lap. "I knew the entire routine. I was so ready to dance with you guys again, but I just froze and clamped up. I'm not meant to be a dancer like you guys. If I can't do these competitions, then there really isn't anything else that I can do." Kaminari feels so ashamed in himself for letting himself become nervous like this.

Todoroki squeezes his knee. "Kaminari, you just came back from years of not dancing with us, of course you're going to forget the pressure, not to mention being handed a solo the minute you come back. I would get like that if I came back from a long time of watching others dance and not join them. But you have to remember, despite the fact just coming back to the team, you have us in your corner to cheer you on. You know the technique like the back of your hand. You know what's right and what's wrong according to your routine. You just have to believe in yourself that you can do it. Does that make sense?"

Kaminari nods his head, finally looking at Todoroki, who has a small smile on his face. The door opens again, revealing Shinsou, and trailing behind him is his boyfriend, Sero. Kaminari frowns at the two. "How did you find me?" He asks Shinsou.

Shinsou points at Todoroki, who is also looking at him with an incredulous look on his face. "Kind of followed him back here. I just wanted to make sure you're alright."

There's a brief moment of silence in the air before Todoroki clears his throat. "Well, I'm going to go watch Izuku do his dance. I'll be back here to check up on you for the award ceremony. Remember what I said, okay?" Kaminari nods, closing his eyes when Todoroki gives him a kiss on the forehead. As he walks past Shinsou, Todoroki gives him a cold, hard glare that read  _hurt my friend, I hurt you._ With that, he walks away.

Kaminari sighs, standing up and starts packing up his things. He really didn't need to, but it was something to occupy his hands with, because he didn't want to swing on Shinsou, or Sero for that matter. "As you can see, I'm perfectly fine. You can leave if you want to."

Shinsou and Sero look at each other before looking back at Kaminari. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Oh? What could that possibly be?"

Shinsou scratches the back of his neck. He gestures to his boyfriend. "This is Sero Hanta. He's my boyfriend."

Kaminari starts packing up his friends' things. Again, occupation. "I know. I found out this morning when you forgot to mention it to me yesterday. It could have been nice to tell somebody that your club partner is also your boyfriend-slash-bandmate. But, it's okay. I'm not a homewrecker. So you can forget about what happened yesterday. It's fine. It's cool." It was starting to become really hard to channel his anger. 

"Kaminari, we actually discussed last night, and we're not as exclusive as you think," Shinsou explains. He steps closer to Kaminari. "We're actually a polymarous couple, so we're looking for others to date. Last night we had a spark Kaminari, you can't deny that. I explained who you are to Sero and he would really like to get to know you, if you give us the chance of course."

What.

What the hell.

Kaminari shifts his gaze to Sero, addressing him now. "I want to hear it from your mouth, too, that you want this. Because I'm not going to date him and you if you're not feeling comfortable with it. I would feel bad, so, are you really okay with this?"

Sero runs a hand through short jet black hair, then running it alongside an undercut and goddamnit if Kaminari isn't a sucker for these dudes already. Earlier on the bus he went through the profiles himself and he came to the conclusion that Sero is hot as fuck. Seriously. "I am really okay with this. Really. Yeah I was kind of shocked, but that was because I haven't met you yet before today. But you're insanely cute and talented, so why not?"

Kaminari glances between Sero and Shinsou before running a hand down his face. "One date. You got one date to make it up to me. I like Ben and Jerry's ice cream, Chinese takeout, and horror films. My apartment. Nine o' clock tomorrow. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Demanding. I like it," Sero tilts his head, biting his lip. Shinsou snorts as Kaminari blushes.

Maybe this wouldn't turn out so bad.

* * *

The award ceremony didn't go as bad as Kaminari thought it was going to be. Kirishima came in fourth, Katsuki in third, Izuku in second and Todoroki in first. It makes complete sense that Kaminari didn't place in the top five or even the top ten. He was just waiting for the consequence that is Aizawa chewing his ear off. The dancers collect their medals and trophies and head back to the room to get their things, thanking Kaminari when they saw that he already packed up everything. Aizawa is the last one to come into the room, heading straight for Kaminari. Welp, here it goes.

"Are you alright?"

Kaminari blinks. "Yeah, I'm alright," Kaminari starts. "Are you not mad at me?"

Aizawa frowns, the others watching with held breaths. "Mad? Why would I be mad?"

"Because I wasted your time and energy for this dance and I basically ruined everything. When you asked me back then if I was sure, I was positive that I was ready. But, now I don't think I'm ready to come back. You saw what happened, everybody saw what happened. I'm going to hurt this team's chances of winning if I keep doing things like this," Kaminari rants. Although he is glad that Aizawa isn't upset with him about freezing on stage, he is still on the fence about continuing to stay on the team competitively.

"If I may interrupt," Izuku calls out quietly. "Kaminari, I was like that when I first started dancing with this team. I used to freeze up all the time and had second doubts about dancing with the others. But as time went along, I realized that I have to start believing in myself, because I know that I have experience and I know how to apply it. The same goes for you, you know all that there is about dance, you just have to remain focus and have strong faith in yourself."

"He's right. You earned a spot on this team when you first joined. Don't quit now. You have us to support you," Kirishima says. Katuski and Todoroki only nod in agreement.

Kaminari looks around the room at his dancemates and his instructor. With a little more practice, he can do it.

"Thanks, everyone."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you all soon!


	14. Chapter 13: Say Cheese (Part One)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aizawa switches things up in the studio today, and it involves a lot of clothing...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I will see you all soon!

"For the next competition that is two weeks away, we will not have any solos," Aizawa states to the students. Eyes stare back at him in confusion, and a few of relief. "Since we primarily focus on solos, I have come to realize that we cannot push out a solo every single week with the same genre and the same message behind every song we choose. So, for the next competition, we entered in the group category only. The group number will be figured out as the day goes on, but does anyone have any questions right now?"

From way in the back of the studio, Kaminari pipes up. "So, the reason isn't that I fucked up everyone's opportunity to have a solo because I ran off stage crying like a little kid?" He still felt really bad for what happened that day, and he and Aizawa worked hard on that dance, so for it to all go to waste just really upset him. Hell, he debated with himself to even show up to rehearseal this morning. The deciding factor was that Katsuki was going to make him breakfast if he did come. Those waffles really did hit the spot. "I just don't want you to say that we're only entering in the group dance is because of my lack of being a professional. That would take chances away from everyone else who wants to do a solo."

Aizawa shakes his head, holding his hand up to silence Kaminari. "Trust me, I had this already figured out way before we even  _choreographed_ your number, Kaminari. We already discussed that it wasn't your fault, you will have more opportunities to dance in the future. Also, mind your language when you're in here. Understood?" After receiving a head nod from Kaminari, Aizawa proceeds forward in his agenda. "Today is going to be a little different. It has come to my attention that we don't have headshots or any promotional pictures for our team. So, if you'll follow me into the other room," the group heads outside to the last room down the hallway, which is one of the two bigger rooms in the building. When they entered into the room, Midnight was already there talking with what seemed like a photographer. A grey background was set up nicely, lights on to balance different skin complexions, as well as a makeup artist and a hair stylist for the photoshoot. "You all will be taking your headshot photos and will be in a spread for a quite popular magazine here in New York. It will be split up into two groups, girls will go first and guys will go last. So, all the guys follow me back to the room to do warmups and to start choreographing for the new group dance."

As the men file back into the room, they stretch their limbs and feet as they all meet in the center of the room, watching and waiting for Aizawa to give them more instructions. Aizawa looks at Izuku then Todoroki. "I need to figure something out. Everyone against the wall except for Midoriya and Todoroki." When the others are lined up against the wall, watching the two men in the middle of the floor, awaiting further steps. "Actually, Midoriya join them on the wall and I'll use Todoroki for now."

When it is only Todoroki in the middle of the floor, Aizawa asks him a questions. "How good are you at acro?"

Todoroki thinks for a few moments, then answers with a resounding. "Fairly good."

Aizawa hums, rubbing the side of his face. He walks back to the start of the line at the wall, and snaps his fingers."Give me a ponche." 

Todoroki nods his head at the request, and keeps himself in a basic stance with both feet on the ground. Slowly, he goes into an arabesque on flat, but keeps going until he is bent forward with his chest to his knee, and his right leg straight as a needle, toes pointed into the air. "Now come back into the arabesque on rise, arms in fifth position." Todoroki pulls himself up, chest now facing level with everyone else's as he lowers his right leg into the position for an arabesque, left foot rose to the balls on his feet as high as he can go. "Alright, come back down. Can you do a handstand kick?"

Todoroki hums again, tying his hair in a low ponytail and pinning back with cat pins he bought from a dollar store (Katsuki begged him time and time again to not buy those stickers, but he couldn't say no to Todoroki's baby face), showing off his heterochromatic eyes and the decade-old scar. Todoroki gets on the floor on his hands and knees, pushing himself forward so that his legs are in a split, suspended in the air, and bends his left leg, almost hitting his face, but his heel gently bumps his nose. He comes back down to rest on his knees, looking up at Aizawa for further instructions. Aizawa nods his head, not saying a word, debating with things in his head that isn't clear with the rest of the group yet. "Combination: handstand kick into a back rise, chest roll, come up into a needle, then into a side aerial. I count it out for you. Ready?"

Aizawa counts out the steps as Todoroki delievers as told. Going into a back rise, he arches his back until his head is meeting the back of his heel, and rolls back onto his chest, coming around in a full circle. Todoroki then rolls up into a standing position in a rolling toe stance, stretching his leg all the way back into an almost ponche, but brings his hand back to grip his calf, pulling up and up until he is elongated into a straight line. Bringing his leg back down, he does a three step and proceeds into a side aerial, making sure not to kick anyone watching from the sidelines. Claps erupt in the room and Todoroki blushes when Kirishima yells from the wall 'Hell yeah, that's our baby!' 

"Thank you, Todoroki. That will be all for now. Midoriya, come to the floor, please."

Gulping nervously, Izuku steps to the middle of the floor, trying not to combust in giggles as Kirishima again yells out praises for his boyfriend. "Midoriya, I know that you and Todoroki have different levels of acro ability when it comes to using them effectively in a dance. But, just like Todoroki, I will ask you to perform some acro tricks. Do them to the best of your ability, and I will figure out the rest later. Now, please demonstrate a rolling tiniscas."

Izuku nods his head, shaking his limbs one last time. He goes down to the ground in a push up position, his arms are straight, his legs are straight, and his head is level with the rest of his torso, eyes toward the ground. He then flips over, so his entire front is facing the ceiling, pushes off his feet to be back into the intial position. He keeps the notion of flipping over and over until Aizawa calls him to a cease. "Perfect. Now, give me a helicopter cheststand."

Izuku lets his body hit the floor with a resounding _oof,_ and everyone chuckles at the noise. Izuku pulls his legs into the air, so only his chest and chin are on the ground, as well as most of his torso. He stretches his legs into a straight line and rotates them like the blades of a helicopter would. After showing that, he rolls onto his back, and pulls himself into a sitting position. 

"Back handspring, roundoff and a back tuck."

Izuku dusts himself off as he comes from the ground. "Sorry if I kick someone when I do this," he apologizes in advance. He goes into the back handspring, cartwheels into the roundoff and tucks his legs in as he flips himself in the air. The men on the wall clap at the completed steps. 

"Last request and we are going to start mapping out the choreography. Combination: front aerial, side aerial, needle, back tuck into a back flip."

Izuku sighs, rubbing his hands as he goes into one corner of the room, again mindful of the people on the other side and does not want to be held responsible for causing injury. He goes into the front aerial, then the side aerial with his arms tucked in, steps into the needle trick that Todoroki did before him, springs back into a back tuck and does a standard back flip. When he lands, he receives a warm round of applause. Aizawa thanks him and asks everyone to join in the middle. "The song I have chosen for this group dance is called  _Control_ by Halsey. It's a rather popular song. One of you will be dressed in white while the rest are dressed in all black. I have chosen Todoroki to be in white and all of you will be in black as I previously mentioned. Now, form a circle and Todoroki go off stage. Todoroki, you come in as if you have a lot on your mind and nothing is sitting quite right with you. Walk in forward, then turn around and walk backward.

"Stop right there in the middle of the circle. When she first says, 'they send me away to find them a fortunate chest filled with diamonds and gold', you will step into the ponche, step out into a turn, coming up into an arabesque, turn into an attitude turn, front aerial and we'll stop there. Ready? Five, six, seven, eight. One and two, three and four, five and six and seven and eight. Great. Those in the circle, you will doing a leaning motion from side to side as Todoroki is doing the first part of the routine. Let me see what that looks like. Five, six, seve, and eight."

* * *

After a couple more hours of learning the new choreography, Ms. Midnight pokes in her head in the doorway. "You haven't killed them, right?"

Aizawa looks around to see the panting faces, sweaty and some discarded their shirts due to the accumulation of sweat gathering in their clothing. Some look tired, some look like they are about to fall over from the work that was put into doing the steps. "No, not really."

Midnight rolls her eyes, stepping aside to let the girls into the studio to switch out with the guys. As they walk down the hallway to the last room, Kirishima catches up with Izuku and Todoroki, Katsuki following suit. "Guys, that was so cool! I wish I could do that!"

Izuku blushes. "We can teach you later today, if you want. But I wasn't nearly as flexible as Todoroki. I didn't know you knew how to do those acro tricks. Did you know how to do them your entire life?"

Todoroki shrugs, pulling into Katsuki's embrace as they enter the photoshoot. "I taught myself most of the tricks when I was younger out of pure boredom. Though I could never figure out how to do the helicopter cheststand. That was rough." Izuku and Kirishima laugh at Todoroki's dry statement.

They walk up to Ms. Midnight, who clasps her hands excitedly. "Alright, my beauts! We will have you all in makeup first, then I have selected clothing for you all to wear for the shoot. Then hair will be done if need be and you will snapped away. Who would like to go first for their picture to be taken?" Kirishima's hand shoots up first in excitement. "Perfect! After Kirishima gets his fill of shots, then everyone will just kind of fall in line to get theirs done. Alright, come get your outfits."

As Midnight handed out the outfits, all of them were in the direction of not being the typical style that some people wear. Some wore sweatpants and a hoodie every day, and instead was traded for a pair of jeans, a belt, nice button down short sleeve shirt with small designs on it, and some clean shoes. After everyone was changed into their handed clothing, they all wowed at what the other was wearing. Some wore loose, baggy clothes while others were tight but not too revealing. Izuku was definitely nervous about his clothing, as he is not fully comfortable with his body yet. Don't get him wrong, he has a nice shape and all, but the things in his head just didn't sit right with the outfit. Finding Midnight talking with the photographer, he taps her gently on the shoulder. "Um, Ms. M-Midnight. I w-would like to ch-change something about my c-clothes, if that's not too m-much trouble."

Midnight frowns at Izuku's stuttering, worried that something about the clothing was making him this way. "Oh, of course you can change things around. I'm not going to force you to change your clothes. What would like to change?"

Izuku was currently wearing a short sleeved white shirt with black pants with holes at the knees and classic white Converse sneakers. The thing that was bothering him with his outfit was the shirt, not the pants or the shoes. He wouldn't say he hated the shirt, it was the matter of self-consciousness and lack of self-esteem and self-confidence. "I would just like to ch-change the shirt if that's okay. I'm sorry," He lowers his head, face flush with shame. Further away, Todoroki, Kirishima and Katsuki are listening in on the conversation, but didn't make the choice to bombard him. 

"No, no it's fine, Midoriya, really. Here," She pulls out a maroon Nike sweater, though the famous logo was tucked away right above where the heart should be. "This was an extra I brought just in case. After you're done changing, you can hand the shirt back to me and I'll tuck it away." Izuku nods as he rushes past everyone to go to the bathroom to change. 

Katsuki, Kirishima nor Todoroki catch up with him. However, they will get to the root of the problem  _after_ practice.

"Alright, Kirishima, you're up, correct?" Midnight asks. Kirishima nods his head. "Great. Let's get you quickly into makeup and see if they can do anything with that hair." She takes Kirishima by the hand and sits him in a chair in front of the hair stylist. He combs out Kirishima's hair, and the others tend to notice how long it has gotten over the couple of months. Deciding with a half-up, half-down hairstyle, they kept makeup to a minimal, only adding light foundation. 

"This stuff feels weird," Kirishima scrunches up his nose adorably. Todoroki leans in to give it a chaste peck.

"You get used to it," Todoroki says.

Kirishima was currently dressed in a pale pink overrsized hoodie that said 'baby' in white bubble text. The collar and the cuffs of the hoodie were white and folded over so it didn't give him sweater paws (they wanted to save the anuerysm that Todoroki was going to have if Kirishima had sweater paws). He wore light blue jeans and a pair of pale pink sneakers. As he stepped in front of the camera, the photographer asked him a few questions about himself and got to snapping full-body photos, some from the waist-up, and just regular headshots. Katsuki walks up to the guy taking the photos and says in a quiet voice, "I would like to have these people's photos printed out..."

* * *

"Alright, good work everyone! I will see you all tomorrow!" Ms. Midnight chirps as she draws the photoshoot to a close. Everyone left the room to gather their dance bags and coats, as it was currently snowing outside. As everyone make leave of the studio, Todoroki, Katsuki, Kirishima and Izuku stay back, mainly because the three men have something for the latter. 

"Izu, we wanted to do something tonight, if you don't mind," Todoroki says, pulling his jacket and zipping it up to his chin. His jacket was poofy enough for him not to wear a scarf, but Katsuki made him tuck one into his bag, just in case. "We wanted to do an activity and it may be a little out of your comfort zone and you're free to stop us at any time if you feel uncomfortable."

Izuku nods his head with no hesitation. He knows that his boyfriends wouldn't put in him harms way just for the sake of it. Izuku figures it may have to do with his change of clothing at the photoshoot today. Although the clothes in itself weren't anything typically revealing, Izuku just didn't like some parts of him shown to the world or on camera. His arms, legs, he was careful not to draw attention to his body, he constantly hid his face if there was an opportunity to. Some may consider his insecurities silly, but those are vulnerable spots to him. Nonetheless, he trusts his boyfriends with his life. "Okay, I'll do it."

Kirishima pumps a hand in the air. "Awesome! We'll all meet at my place, is that alright?" 

The men nod simultaneously and make their way out of the studio. Snowflakes were falling from a white sky to an even whiter surface. White dusting of collected snow gathered on the bustling city streets, people are starting to drive more carefully in the snow. Kids are seen at the playgrounds chasing one another, making small snowballs and having fights, carefree laughter filling the air. As they walk down the sidewalk, Kirishima makes for a detour for the train station. "We would actually need to take the train to get to my house. Don't worry, it's not far."

After getting through the entry way to the train with their Metrocards, they all gather tightly onto the cramped train. They pass the time by watching silly videos, snapping pictures of Katsuki trying not to fall asleep in the seats, and telling really bad pickup lines. After about an hour or so, Kirishima pulls them off the bus. "Just up these stairs and my house is just right across the street."

Climbing the one flight of stairs, Katsuki and Todoroki look around to see that they've entered into Queens, which is only about a twenty minute drive if they rode in a car, but the train was much faster. They climb up two steps to get to the front door, and Kirishima pulls out his key from his coat pocket. He opens the door and Katsuki and Todoroki marvel at the coziness of the interior. "Eijirou, this is nice," Todoroki compliments.

Kirishima beams shyly, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. "Thanks! My moms took me in when I was just a kid after the whole ordeal with my dad. Turns out, my nurse who is now my mom, Ukiyo, she and her wife wanted to adopt me as soon as they saw me. So, couple of months later, here I was!" Kirishima smiles brightly as he mentions his mothers. He will forever be grateful that they took him under their wing and called him as their own. He'll have to pay them back with something grand in the future, though.

"Where are they now?" Katsuki places his bag near the door, toeing off his shoes and the others follow suit. They all hang their coats on the coatstand next to the door and all gather on the living room couch. Kirishima places an arm around Izuku's shoulders while Katsuki places his feet on Todoroki's lap and nuzzles into the corner of the soft couch. "I didn't hear anybody when I walked in."

"My moms are both on leave overseas for a conference call for a new laboratory or something like that and they need to be there. Usually Sugar is here too, but he would literally tear into everything if they're not around and they didn't want to keep him in the cage forever. So, they sent him over to a relative's house in Manhattan." Kirishima stands up suddenly, sending Izuku to fall on his side into the couch. "Shouto! Katsuki! Help me move the table and the furniture please for our  _activity._ "

You see, the way he said 'activity' should have not made Izuku nervous, but it did. Izuku sits upright again as the others move things around, creating a large space in the middle of the living room. "What is going on?" Izuku asks.

"Oh, wait, I have to get one more thing. Be right back!" Kirishima disappears down the hallway and up the stairs into his room. "Found it!" He exclaims from down the hallway with a grand mirror. He places it gently in front of the television. "Now, Izu, baby, we would like to try something with you if that's alright."

Izuku glances from Todoroki to Katsuki and back to Kirishima. "I guess. Okay," He says. Katsuki walks forward and holds out his hand for Izuku to take and he pulls Izuku to his feet once their hands are intertwined. "What's going on? You guys aren't saying anything." As soon as he's five feet in front of the mirror, he stares at himself. He's in his street clothes and fuzzy white socks, all topped with an even baggier sweatshirt. Todoroki, Kirishima and Katsuki just stare at him, and it's freaking Izuku out. "Seriously guys, what's all this for?"

"Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" Katsuki murmurs. His face doesn't change from what he is currently saying, but the words hit Izuku all the same. After a while of dating, they tend to pick up everyone's nervous habits, ticks, and all the little things that make them who they are. Todoroki identifies as a guy, but he would rather wear women's clothing. Kirishima is as manly and tough as they come, but he has a heart of gold. Katsuki's all show and no talk but when he does speak, it's volumes. Izuku, in this case, loves to encourage others to be as loud and bold and confident as they want, but won't take the advice themselves. Plus, he's receptive to compliments. So, if this plan doesn't work, they don't know what will.

"What?" Izuku whispers. His cheeks are already lightly painted red and it makes his green eyes stand out even more than what they normally do. He unconsciously wraps his arms around his middle, and it doesn't fail to be noticed amongst the others. Katsuki steps from behind the mirror and walks over to stand behind Izuku. He keeps his hands tucked behind his back. "Katsu, what is all of this?"

"Every time you dance, whether it's just in practice or at competition, you have a fire inside of you that encourages me to keep pushing and keep going. That is what made me fall in love with you," Kirishima says, eyes gentle and unwavering, leaning up against the side of the mirror while Todoroki balances it out on the other side. 

Izuku bites his lip and his gaze drops to the floor. "U-um..."

"It's as if you don't recognize how much we love everything about you, but we want you to grow comfortable with yourself and who you are. You keep hiding yourself from the world and from us, careful not to reveal too much of one piece of you, when in reality we don't get enough of it in the first place." Todoroki cocks his head to the side as Izuku looks up to meet his gaze, nervously pursing his lips. "We just want to help you in any way possible, so this is one way. Katsuki."

Hands start tugging at the bottom of Izuku's sweatshirt, and the hypersensitivity has Izuku on edge. He voice catches in his throat as Katsuki comes closer, tucking a kiss into Izuku's neck. "K-Katsuki."

"Shh, you're okay. It's only us here, baby. It's okay. You're okay." Katuski slowly continues with pulling Izuku's shirt off, gently nudging his elbows up so he can get the piece of clothing off his upper torso. Once that was removed, everyone wasn't surprised to see that Izuku was wearing a second shirt. Though it was cold outside, Izuku had a puffer jacket that held in a lot of warmth and the sweatshirt had soft material on the inside, so it really did make sense to be safe to wear another pair of clothing. But the thing is, Izuku never wears tank tops. So when it gets to the point of taking off the forest green shirt, then there would just be skin. Katsuki's warm hands seeps through the thin t-shirt, and Izuku almost shivers at the contact. "D'you wanna take this off for me?"

Izuku doesn't know whether to shake or nod his head. "I don't know," He says in a small voice.

Katsuki hums. "Well, I'll slowly take off this one like I did with the last one. You can stop me if you don't feel comfortable, okay?" After receiving a nod from Izuku, Katsuki's hands start to pull upward, revealing a little bit of skin on his lower stomach. Kirishima and Todoroki have yet to intervene, just watching Katsuki do his ministrations. As the shirt comes up halfway, Izuku doesn't want to look at the mirror. He wants them to put it away, cover it up, do  _something,_ but at the same time he needs this. For the sake of himself, and for the sake of his boyfriends. "You have to look in the mirror baby. We won't hurt you."

_I had a dream_

_I got everything I wanted_

_Not what you think_

_And if I'm being honest_

_It might have been a nightmare_

_..._

_As long as I am here,_

_No one can hurt you_

* * *

**_Stay tuned for Part Two for this chapter!_ **


End file.
